Undone
by ladyhawk89
Summary: Usagi's parents have caught on to her late night disappearances. Now Usagi must make a choice; tell her parents the truth, or risk losing her family for good.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

Usagi sat down at the bus stop and sighed in defeat. She pulled her science midterm out of her bag and counted the red marks on the paper. There was a gigantic 25 angrily circled in red at the top of the first page.

 _There's no way my parents will believe I studied for this,_ she thought miserably. _I can hear Mom now-_

"Usagi, what happened? I thought you studied for this!"

 _Exactly,_ Usagi thought with a flinch. Then with a startled jump, she turned around. Mamoru stood behind her, frowning at the test paper. Usagi blushed, feeling ashamed.

"I _did_ study for this," she said defensively. " _You_ helped me study, remember?" Mamoru sat down beside her and looked over the test. He nodded.

"Yeah, I remember," he confirmed. "You did so well. What happened?" Usagi scowled and shoved the paper in her bag.

"The Dark Kingdom happened," she snapped at him. " _Some_ of us can't get three hours of sleep and still function well enough for a stupid test." Usagi glared almost accusingly at Mamoru. He shrank back a bit, feeling appropriately chastised.

"I'm sorry, Usagi," he said. "That was incredibly dumb of me." Usagi glared at him a moment longer, then sighed, sagging forward slightly.

"It's fine," she said, wearily. Mamoru noticed suddenly how tired she looked. There was a hint of shadows beneath her normally bright eyes, and she looked pale.

"Usa, are you alright?" he asked. Usagi looked up at him and shrugged.

"Fine, I guess," she said. "I'm just really tired. That fight last night kind of took it out of me. I could use a nap, but no way are my parents going to let me after they see this. It was thirty percent of my grade!"

Usagi's face scrunched up, and for a moment, Mamoru thought Usagi was going to go into her customary water works, which would have been a relief. If she was feeling well enough for her usual dramatics, Mamoru would have been sure she was really alright. But the moment passed. Usagi seemed to be too tired to act out. The battle the night before wasn't as difficult as the one they had fought the night before Usagi's test, but it was the latest in a series of battles that had been hard enough. Usagi, Mamoru had noticed, didn't seem to bounce back as quickly as the rest of them. Mamoru made a note to get Usagi to speak to Ami about running some tests. Maybe they could figure out exactly why fighting seemed to take so much more out of Usagi.

"I'm super not looking forward to this," Usagi continued, leaning against Mamoru's shoulder. "I'm going to be grounded until I graduate. Promise you'll wait for me?" Mamoru smiled and kissed the top of Usagi's head.

"Another thousand years, if I need to," he promised. Usagi laughed joylessly.

"You might need to."

"Well, as long as I'd be allowed to date in the meantime…" Usagi jabbed Mamoru in the side with her elbow.

"Don't even think about it, or you'll be grounded, too!" Mamoru laughed and held his hands up.

"Alright! Alright! How about we go for an ice cream before you go home?" Usagi looked at him longingly.

"I would _love_ to!" she groaned "But I just want to get this over with." Mamoru draped his arm around Usagi's shoulders and let her lean against him.

"I'll sneak you some later," he promised. Mamoru walked Usagi the rest of the way to her neighborhood. She said good bye to him at the corner. Then she squared her shoulders and walked the rest of the way alone.

Kenji's car wasn't in the driveway, Usagi noticed with some relief. Her mother would be busy fixing dinner by now, and with her father away, Usagi had a chance of sneaking to her room and avoiding her mother until dinner time. With some creative maneuvering, Usagi might even make it until the next morning without telling her mother about her dismal grade. It would be a lot easier to tell her mother on her way out of the door and give her the rest of the day to cool down. With her plan set, Usagi took a deep breath and entered the house as quietly as she could. She could, as she expected, hear her mother working in the kitchen. The sound of cartoons in the living room told her where her brother was. She set her shoes down by the door and crept towards the stairs.

"Usagi! You're home!" Usagi leapt almost all the way to the stairs at the sound of her father's voice. She spun around and saw him with a can of soda in his hand. He was wearing his old university sweatshirt and what he called his "lounging pants", which were an old pair of jeans that his wife wouldn't allow him to wear anywhere else. He had clearly been home for a while.

"Er…hi, Dad," she stammered, her face flushing guiltily. "I didn't realize you were home. I…uh…didn't see your car." Kenji didn't seem to notice Usagi's fluster, or he mistook it for surprise.

"Oh, that," he chuckled. "You wouldn't believe what happened. I was halfway to work when my car just stopped running."

"Oh, that's terrible," Usagi said, backing up towards the stairs. "I really have to…"

"That's not the half of it, though," Kenji continued. "I had to wait almost an hour for a tow to the repair shop. Then I had to wait another _two_ hours for them to figure out what was wrong with my car. I had finally had to call your mom for a ride home. Then about an hour ago they called to tell me they finally figured it out. You'll never guess what was wrong." Usagi glanced nervously towards the kitchen.

"What was wrong with it?" she asked her father, trying to sound more interested than she felt. Kenji laughed and shook his head.

"The darn thing had run out of gas!" he told her. "I had been so preoccupied with getting to work that I completely forgot to check." Usagi forced some laughter and started going up the stairs.

"That's hilarious, Dad," she said. "But I have to go…"

"Right, right," Kenji waved his daughter on. "Homework and such. I get it." Usagi breathed a sigh of relief. She was home free if she could just make it to her room. Her hopes were dashed just then when her mother poked her head out into the hallway and saw Usagi.

"There you are!" she said cheerfully. Ikuko wiped her hands on her apron and went over to where Kenji and Usagi were standing.

"Hi, Mom," Usagi said brightly. She made a quick attempt to keep the away from the topic of school. "Dad was just telling me about his car."

"I've been hearing about it all day," Ikuko snorted, poking her husband in his ribs. "You know how your father is when he gets hold of a good story. We'll be hearing about this one for years."

"Hey," Kenji protested. "I'm a journalist. Stories are what I do." Usagi laughed along with her parents and went up a couple more steps.

 _So close!_ Usagi thought wildly.

"I got a call from Umino's mother a few minutes ago." Usagi tried to hide her cringe. She could see her chances of escaping getting dimmer.

"Called for your chocolate cake recipe?" Usagi asked lightly. "Umino told her how good it is. He said he wants it for his birthday."

"She sure did," Ikuko said, nodding her head. Kenji missed the sharpening of her eyes, but Usagi didn't. She knew exactly what was coming. "She went on and on about how Umino was so upset about not getting a perfect score on his science midterm, and she wants to cheer him up."

"Well, that Umino is a dork and a half." Usagi laughed and made one last futile attempt to escape to her room.

"How did _you_ do on that test?" Ikuko asked. Usagi froze. She looked at her mother with what she hoped was confusion and not guilt. Ikuko wasn't buying it, but she managed to keep an expectant smile on her face. Even Kenji had caught on to the line of questioning and was looking at his daughter questioningly.

"You _did_ take that test, too, didn't you?" Ikuko prompted. Usagi considered lying and telling them that Umino was in an AP science class, but she decided not to. It would only make things worse later. With a defeated sigh, she dug her red splattered test out of her bag and handed it to her mother.

"Before you say anything, I really _did_ study for this-"

"You _studied_?" Ikuko looked at the paper horrified. Kenji looked over her shoulder and his jaw fell.

"Usagi, a _twenty-five percent?_ " he nearly screamed. " _How_ can you expect us to believe you studied? You get five percent for just getting the date right!" Shingo peeked out of the living room to see what was going on. His parents didn't notice and he smirked at his sister. She shot him a quick scowl, and then went back to trying to explain.

"I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before," she told them. "I was…nervous…about the test." The excuse sounded weak even to her own ears, but it was partly the truth. Usagi hoped that her parents would buy it.

"I know you don't expect us to believe that!" Ikuko crossed her arms and glared angrily up at her daughter.

" _I_ know why she couldn't sleep," Shingo muttered smugly. His parents immediately turned to him and Shingo shrank back, regretting that he had said anything.

"What do you mean by that?" Kenji demanded. Shingo looked down at his socks and shrugged.

"Nothing," he mumbled. "Forget it."

"Shingo," Ikuko said in a tone that meant trouble for him if he lied. Shingo looked at Usagi apologetically.

"It's nothing," he insisted. "I…I thought I heard Usagi climb out of the window, but it was probably just Luna." Ikuko and Kenji turned back to Usagi.

"Have you been _sneaking out!_ " Kenji yelled. His face was bright red at this point. "What on earth are you thinking, young lady? Why are you leaving this house in the middle of the night?" Usagi glared daggers at her brother. He mouthed an apology and slunk back to the couch.

"I _just_ took a walk," Usagi told him. "It wasn't a big deal. I just couldn't sleep."

"How long has this been going on?" Kenji demanded. Usagi's face flushed red and she couldn't meet his eyes.

"Not long," she lied. Kenji blinked in shock.

" _How long?_ " Usagi fiddled with her fingers and said nothing.

"Have you been sneaking out to see Mamoru?" Ikuko asked quietly. Kenji looked wildly between his wife and his daughter.

 _"Mamoru!_ That boy you've been seeing? Did you sneak out to see him?"

"No! Dad, Mamoru's not like that!" Usagi asserted. "He would _never_ ask me to sneak out to see him. _Especially_ not when I have midterms."

"So, what were you doing leaving the house?" Ikuko asked. Usagi threw her arms up helplessly.

"I just…needed some air," she said. "I didn't go far."

"How are we supposed to believe that?" Ikuko asked. "Was that the first time you'd snuck out?" Usagi hesitated a beat too long before saying it was.

"You are grounded!" Kenji declared. "Until further notice, you go to school and then you come straight home. Don't even _think_ about the movies, or the mall, or the park, or the phone until those grades come up."

"But, Dad-"

"Keep it up and I will shut off all the electricity to your room!" Usagi looked at her mother pleadingly, but Ikuko's face was as immovable as stone.

"You heard your father," she said frostily. "Go to your room, now. I'll bring your dinner to you."

Usagi gaped at her parents. It was completely unfair, but she couldn't tell them that. The only way to make them understand was to tell them that she was Sailor Moon, which the team had decided was a bad idea. Instead, Usagi huffed and stomped to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Usagi threw herself on her bed and considered throwing an all-out tantrum, but she didn't have the energy to throw into a really satisfying outburst. She settled for lying on her bed and staring morosely out of the window. Not for the first time, she imagined what her parents' reactions would be when they found out that she was actually Sailor Moon. They would, after all, have to find out eventually if everything she had seen when the Senshi travelled to the 31st century came true. Then Usagi considered the reasons for _not_ telling them. There was the fact that they would probably try to stop her from putting herself in such dangerous situations, despite the fact that without her the world as they knew it would have ended several times over. Then there were the others to think of. Once her parents knew that she was Sailor Moon, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out who the rest of the Senshi were, and it wouldn't be fair to compromise them without their consent. But those reasons alone wouldn't have been enough to stop her if it hadn't been for her last reason. She didn't want to have to explain to her parents that she wasn't _really_ theirs. That she was actually some quasi alien princess changeling that had been implanted in Ikuko to be reborn as the Defender of Love and Justice. That was a conversation she'd just as soon avoid. And it left her here; exhausted, grounded and flunking school.

Frowning, Usagi turned onto her back. The other girls weren't having nearly as much trouble as she was. Ami was a genius, of course. She could probably have passed that test on no sleep without hesitating on one question. The others all had their problem classes, too, but they managed to keep at least a C average. Rei had a B average, and _she_ was in a prestigious private school. Part of Usagi wondered if she was just not as smart as her friends, but she _knew_ she knew the answers to the test the day before. If it hadn't been for that youma attack, she knew she would have at least passed the test. She noticed, though, that the battles always seemed to tire her more than the other Senshi.

"Okay," she said to herself. "Maybe I'm not stupid. Maybe I'm just weak."

 _Beepbeepbeep!_

 _Beepbeepbeep!_

 _Beepbeepbeep!_

Usagi sat up and looked around her room in a disoriented daze. She hadn't realized that she was falling asleep. The sun was only a bit lower in the sky and her mother hadn't brought her dinner, so Usagi didn't think she had been asleep long. The beeping continued and Usagi realized it was her communicator going off. Her heart thudded in her chest as she reached into her backpack for it. She was dreading making her escape with her parents so angry. She turned it on and Rei's annoyed face came up on the screen.

"What is it?" Usagi asked. Her other hand was already reaching for her transformation broach.

"Where _are_ you, Meatball head?" she demanded. "I've tried your cell phone three times already! Why didn't you pick up?" Usagi looked at her in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Is it another attack?" Rei rolled her eyes.

"No, it's not an attack," she snapped. "If you had answered your phone, you'd know that Luna called an emergency meeting to discuss all the youma attacks lately. Get your butt over here. Like five minutes ago!" Usagi fought back a wave of annoyance as checked her phone- thankfully, her parents hadn't thought to take it yet. Sure enough she had three missed calls from Rei and one from Minako.

"I can't come," she told Rei. "I'm grounded."

"You _have_ to come," Rei insisted. "For some reason _you're_ the leader of our team. We can't meet without you."

"Okay, great," Usagi retorted sarcastically. "How about you explain that to my parents. Good luck with that."

"Can't you just sneak out?" Rei asked.

"No," Usagi said. "They're on to the window trick, and I can't just walk out of the front door." Now Rei got angry.

"Can't you at least pretend you're interested in getting here?" she snapped. "The rest of us have lives, too, you know!" Usagi could feel the blood rush to her face. Of course she remembered that her friends had lives, too, and that they had obligations and responsibilities outside of being Senshi, but they didn't have her parents. She had thought that they understood her position, but apparently not. Usagi tried for several moments to figure out to explain to Rei why she couldn't just walk out right then, but before she could say anything, Rei let out a disgusted huff and said,

"Forget it. You're just going to flake out on us. _Again!_ Some leader." Then Rei hung up. Usagi stared at the blank screen in shock, before she threw the indestructible communicator across the room. It hit her open closet door and landed on a pile of clothes. Usagi flung herself back onto her bed and finally gave into the tantrum she couldn't have earlier. She screamed into her pillows until her throat was too sore and then cried until her head ached. When she heard her mother coming up the stairs, Usagi hurriedly pulled a book out from her backpack and sat at her desk pretending to read. Ikuko entered without knocking, which was unusual for her, and set the plate on the desk without a word. On her way out, Ikuko paused and Usagi turned to see her mother pick up her cell phone. She looked at Usagi significantly and tucked it into her apron pocket.

"When you're finished, leave your plate outside the door," was all Ikuko said before she closed the door behind her. Usagi glared at the plate. She considered not eating at all to spite her parents, but she was actually ravenous, the way she normally was after a fight. Her mother had made tonkatsu, her favorite, which made it all the harder to resist.

Luna arrived as Usagi was setting her plate quietly outside of her door. The black cat sat primly on the window sill with her tail wrapped around her legs. She looked at her young charge as reproachfully as a cat could. Usagi far from being cowed crossed her arms and glared at Luna defiantly.

"You missed a meeting," Luna observed disapprovingly.

"I did," Usagi said. "I told Rei why." Luna looked at Usagi expectantly and she realized that Rei hadn't told Luna what had happen. "Seriously? Rei didn't say anything at all?"

"Usagi, if you are blowing off Senshi meetings to spend time with Mamoru…"

"For crying out loud!" Usagi growled in disgust. "What is everyone's deal with Mamoru today? _No_ , I was _not_ blowing off a Senshi meeting to see Mamrou. I'm grounded. I can't leave the house except to go to school." Luna blinked in surprise at that.

"Grounded? Why? For how long?" Usagi stretched out on her bed and threw her arm across her eyes.

"I don't know for how long," she said. "Until my parents can see straight again. Maybe until I graduate. _If_ I graduate." Luna jumped onto the bed beside Usagi and curled up comfortingly beside her. Usagi fought back tears and curled up around Luna.

"Why are you grounded?" Luna asked again softly.

"I bombed my science test," Usagi told her. "And my parents found out that I had snuck out the night before. That didn't help my case."

"Oh, Usagi," Luna sighed. "I'm sorry." Usagi sighed. It was nice to have some sympathy. Usagi almost wanted to cry, but she didn't. She had had enough crying for one day. She sat scratching Luna's ears for a few minutes. Luna nuzzled Usagi's cheek.

"Are you sure you were as prepared as you could have been for that test?" she asked. Usagi stopped scratching her head abruptly.

"What?" Usagi's voice was deadly calm.

"All I mean is that _perhaps_ if you spent a little more time preparing for that test, you would have done a bit better."

"I studied for two weeks for that test!" Usagi face flushed in outrage. It took all of her effort not to raise her voice. She wouldn't be able to explain to her parents why she was yelling at her cat. Luna mewed and rubbed her head against Usagi's cheek in her most placating way.

"I'm sure you did," Luna assured her. "I just think that maybe you should consider the fact that your studying methods may need to be reworked."

"Luna, I _knew_ all of that information!" Usagi insisted. "I failed because I was too tired to read the questions right, and I kept falling asleep. My studying methods are just fine!"

"I know you think so," Luna said. "But the other girls had to fight the same battle you did, and _they_ passed the test." Usagi went pale when Luna said that. She didn't respond. She grabbed Luna by the scruff of her neck and dumped her unceremoniously outside of her door. Luna yowled indignantly as the door shut firmly behind her.

Usagi stood fuming in the middle of her room for a long time. Her chest felt like it was on fire, and her entire body shook in rage. When she finally calmed herself down, the sun nearly completely set and Usagi was standing in the dark. She turned on her desk lamp and made herself work on her homework. Her rage had the unexpected benefit of making her focus sharper. She flew through her math, science, and literature homework in record time, and she was somewhat confident that her answers were correct for the most part. She was still angry when she tucked the last of her homework into her school bag, but she could feel the exhaustion creeping back up on her. Usagi decided to skip her nightly shower. Instead she used her last bit of energy to put on her pajamas and she fell onto her bed, not bothering to get under the covers, and she was about to fall asleep when her door opened. Her parents stood at her door, their expressions grim. Her father carried a piece of wood and a hammer.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"They literally nailed my window shut," Usagi told Ami, Makoto and Minako before class the next morning. Her friends murmured in sympathy, but Usagi wasn't sure that they understood exactly how much trouble she was in. Her parents had spent the evening discussing what to do about her going AWOL, and they decided to act before she had a chance to do it again. Her father nailed the wood plank making sure that the window would just barely open wide enough for Luna to slip through. She had managed to lose all semblance of her parents' trust. That was worse than the additional difficulty she would have carrying out her Senshi duties.

"Sometimes I wish I could just tell them," Usagi confided. She saw the uncomfortable looks on her friends' faces and sighed. "I know, I know. 'If wishes were motorcycles, blahblahblah."

"I believe the expression is 'horses'," Ami corrected mildly. Usagi shrugged her off.

"Horses smell awful," she said. Then she sighed. "I seriously hope we're done with all this for a while. At this rate, even if I raise my grades, I won't be able to leave the house until I'm forty."

"I can help you with your studies," Ami offered. "You get the subjects, it's just a matter of retaining the information even if you don't have enough sleep. I've been working on a new way to memorize with girls."

"It works so well!" Minako chirruped. "I can remember the elements through arsenic."

"I've never had such an easy time with exponents," Makoto said proudly. Usagi smiled wanly.

"Thanks, but it would have to be during lunch," she said. "I'm supposed to go straight home after school."

"No problem," Ami told her kindly. "We'll make it work." Usagi smiled gratefully and stooped to gather her things. She avoided looking directly at Ami.

"How's Luna?" she asked.

"She's fine," Ami assured her friend. "She's made it very clear that this isn't going to be a permanent arrangement."

"Well, as long as you and your mom don't mind," Usagi said breezily, "she can stay as long as she wants. I have enough going on with my parents. I really don't need _her_ nagging me, too." Ami didn't say anything. She just smiled sympathetically at Usagi as the girls walked to class together. It was clear that Usagi felt as bad about the fight as Luna did.

Over the next few weeks, Usagi got her wish. There were no more youma attacks and she managed to pull her grades up significantly. Her parents were satisfied enough to lift some of Usagi's restrictions slightly. She was allowed to study with her friends once a week for two hours in her room.

"I just wish they'd give me back my phone," Usagi lamented.

"Baby steps," Minako comforted her. "At least you can use the house phone now."

"Yeah. For ten minutes every other day, like a prisoner." Usagi rolled her eyes. She hadn't seen or spoken to Mamoru except for the couple of days he could get time to walk with her to school since the day she had gotten her dismal test score back. Since her parents suspected that he was the main reason for her sneaking out, Usagi still wasn't allowed to talk to him on the phone. She had to be content with messages passed through her friends. She missed him terribly, but she didn't want to take the risk to actually sneak out to see him with her parents still fuming. Sometimes, though, she'd find steel tipped roses randomly on her way to or from school. That made her smile. If everything kept going as well as they had been, Usagi was certain that her parents would relent at least on letting her use her ten minutes on the phone to talk to Mamoru. Things were tough, but Usagi knew it would get better.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

The next attack came about a month after Usagi's grounding.

Groggily, Usagi sat up, feeling an unnerving sense of déjà vu. She looked at her alarm clock. It was a little after one in the morning. It took her a moment to realize that her communicator was what woke her. Immediately Usagi snapped out of her groggy haze and she dove for her bag and searched hurriedly for the gadget.

"Usa-chan!" Jupiter's grave face lit up the screen. "I'm so sorry to do this to you, but we have a situation. We could use a bit of Sailor Moon's brand of youma dusting about now."

"Where are you?" Usagi asked, grabbing her broach.

"The playground by Sunakawa elementary." That wasn't far from Usagi's house.

"I'm on my way." The screen went black and Usagi threw her blankets off. She stared at her window. The wooden plank was still there. She was pretty sure she could pull it off easily, but it might make too much noise and she'd have to find a way to put it back before her parents noticed. Instead, Usagi opened her door as quietly as she could and crept noiselessly down the stairs. She hesitated at the front door, but only for a second. She didn't bother to put on shoes. A few houses down, Usagi ducked behind some bushes to transform. Minutes later, Sailor Moon arrived at the playground, where the rest of the Senshi were already engaged in fighting a youma that seemed to be wearing a jungle gym as a skirt. Or a kilt. Sailor Moon couldn't tell if it was male or female. It was seven feet tall with a body too emaciated and hunched to discern any of the tell-tale signs of sex.

 _Not that it matters,_ Sailor Moon thought grimly, calling her moon wand. There was no time for her usual banter. She needed to end this as quickly as possible. Fortunately for her, the youma was too distracted fighting her friends to notice her sudden arrival. Unfortunately, it wasn't alone. Another appeared just as Sailor Moon was preparing her attack. This one wasn't even vaguely humanoid. It looked like a formless shadow with glowing red eyes. Before Sailor Moon could process what she was seeing, it reared back one arm and swept her across the playground. There was a sharp pain in her side, and when Sailor Moon clutched at it, she could feel the blood beginning to flow.

"Great," she muttered. The youma that had taken the swing at her had disappeared again. Or so it seemed to Sailor Moon. It blended so well with the other shadows on the playground that she didn't see that it had circled around to attack her from behind her. The rest of the Senshi had their hands full with the first youma. It was doing its best to skewer them on the metal poles it was pulling seemingly from nowhere. Sailor Moon twirled her scepter and ran towards them, ignoring the pain in her side. She still didn't see the second youma preparing to strike.

 _Shing!_

Startled, Sailor Moon spun back around and saw the second youma standing behind her. It was stunned, courtesy of Tuxedo Kamen's steel tipped rose. Sailor Moon beamed at him for a moment, but the youma was already starting to recover. Thinking quickly, the leader of the Senshi retreated from the shadowy youma, and ran towards the other. She leapt up and with precision that would have made Jupiter proud, had she not been occupied just then. Sailor Moon drop kicked the jungle gym clad youma in the back. As she planned, she pulled its attention from the rest of the Senshi. It stalked towards her, the second youma only a step behind. The wound on her side was burning, but Sailor Moon pushed it to the back of her mind. She would have to try to do this in one shot.

"Spiral Heart Attack!" she cried. The two youma understood what she was doing a split second too late to do anything but gawk at the burst of silver light that disintegrated them. The rest of the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen rushed over to Sailor Moon.

"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Jupiter said with a grin.

"Yeah," Venus agreed. "That thing was a lot tougher than it looked."

"Next time why don't you time your dramatic entrance a little better?" Mars said scathingly. "Mercury almost got impaled." The blood drained from Sailor Moon's face and she spun towards Mercury in fear.

"I'm fine," Mercury assured her. She shot Mars a pointed look. "Everyone's fine. You got here right on time." Sailor Moon's shoulders slumped forward in relief. She felt more drained than ever.

"I'm glad," she said with a relieved sigh. "I have to get back home."

"Seriously?" Mars snapped. "You're just going to leave us?" Sailor Moon rounded on Mars. All her fury came back to her in an instant.

" _ **Haven't you been paying attention**_?" she screamed. "I'm _grounded!_ For exactly _this_ reason. _Excuse_ me if I can't stick around and celebrate with you guys, but I need to get back before my parents realize I'm gone and ground me for _two_ lifetimes instead of just this one. I mean, if that's okay with you!" Without waiting for a response, Sailor Moon took off, leaving Mars staring after her. Tuxedo Kamen took off behind her, after exchanging a bewildered look with Venus. Mars huffed and spun towards her friends.

"Can you believe her? She shows up late to the fight and can't stick around long enough to make sure nothing else pops up?"

"Calm down, Mars." Venus dropped her transformation and Minako walked over to her friend. Mercury and Jupiter changed back as well, and Mars reluctantly turned back last. Rei was surrounded by her three friends, all looking at her with concern.

"What's going on?" Makoto asked. "You've been such a mood for weeks. And today…First you yelled at the server at the restaurant for giving you the wrong drink and then you snapped at your grandfather. You _never_ do that."

"It's not just about Usagi not sticking around is it?" Ami pressed gently. Rei clamped her mouth shut and looked away.

"Hey," Minako said softly, putting her arm around Rei. "It's just us. You can tell us what's going on."

"I'm fine," Rei asserted. Her friends were unconvinced. They stood patiently, but expectantly. Rei chewed on her lip and stubbornly held back the tears threatening to fall.

"Rei, what's wrong?" Makoto asked pleadingly. Rei looked up at her friends rebelliously, and then looked back at the ground almost immediately.

"My father was in town," she told them blandly as the first tears slid down her cheeks. "I read about it in the paper a few of weeks ago. He was here to see the mayor." Her friends looked confused for a moment, but Minako caught on.

"He didn't call you." Rei shook her head no.

"That _creep_!" Makoto exclaimed. Then she blushed. Her eyes darted at Rei sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Rei said angrily. "He _is_ a creep."

"So that's why you've been so angry," Ami said understandingly. She hadn't seen her own father in six months, but he called at least once a week and always went out of his way to see her when he was in town. She could imagine how Rei must have felt that her father hadn't even told her that he would be in town.

"I feel so stupid," Rei confessed. She swiped at the tears angrily. "I hate that I'm wasting tears on that man, but…I mean this is the same man who couldn't spend an hour of his day to see my mother in the hospital and can't even be bothered to see me more than once or twice a year."

"He's your father," Ami reminded. "Of _course_ this upset you. No matter what else he is, he's still your father, and it's okay to be upset about this."

"I just wish you had told us earlier," Minako chided gently. "We're practically your sisters. This is what we're here for!" Rei eyes passed quickly from face to face before she buried her face in her hands and started sobbing.

"Why can't he just act like my dad for once!" she cried, sinking to the ground. "What did I _do_ that's so horrible that he can't make one lousy phone call?" Minako knelt down, and pulled her into a hug. Rei resisted for a moment, then cried on her shoulder. Ami and Makoto stood above them protectively and they let Rei cry without trying to stop her. When the tears finally subsided, Ami handed her a handkerchief to dry her face.

"Say the word and I will beat the stupid out of him." Makoto offered. Rei laughed drily and shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's not worth you going to jail for attacking a cabinet member."

"Are you feeling okay enough to go home?" Ami asked. Rei nodded and stood up. Then her face fell and flushed bright red.

"What's wrong?" Minako asked.

"I was horrible to Usagi!" Rei moaned. She told them about her other conversation with Usagi that afternoon. "She's grounded and I called her a flake. I could _not_ have been a bigger pill!" Minako exchanged glances with the other girls.

"You have been kind of pillish to her lately," she said, not seeing a reason to sugar coat it. "But you can't do anything about it now. It's late. Besides, you've been mean to her before and she's always forgiven you. Luckily, she doesn't know how to hold a grudge."

"You two are like bickering siblings," Ami said. "You fight over nothing and then make up a minute later. You two will be fine." Rei smiled weakly at that. She wasn't as convinced as her friends, though. She wasn't sure she had ever been as mean to Usagi as she had been that night. And Usagi had never snapped at her that way before.

"Usagi's going through her own thing right now," Makoto said almost as if she had read Rei's concern. "You both are just really, _understandably_ stressed out right now. Everything will be okay, though. You'll see." Rei nodded and sighed.

"I'll call her tomorrow," she resolved. Then she yawned. "I can't wait to say good bye to this week."

" _Di_ - _tto_!" Minako nodded firmly. "Come on, Brimstone. I'll walk with you." The girls split up, Rei and Minako heading to their neighborhood, Ami and Makoto walking their separate ways, all content that the biggest problems had been handled.

A mile from the school, Sailor Moon had made it back to her neighborhood. Usagi dropped her transformation a couple of blocks from her house.

"Usa!" Usagi stopped so Mamoru could catch up to her. Mamoru took her in his arms and Usagi buried her face in his shoulder and cried.

"Are you okay?" Mamoru asked once Usagi stopped crying. Clinging to him, she shook her head.

"I'm not," she confessed. "I'm trying so hard. But my parents are still mad at me and now Rei…" Usagi pressed her head against his chest. Mamoru held her and spoke to her soothingly.

"Rei was wrong," he said. "You guys will work it out." Usagi frowned and pulled away. She wrapped her arms around Mamoru's neck and sighed.

"I miss you," she told him. He smiled sadly and kissed Usagi's forehead.

"I miss you, too."

"This is bad."

"We've been through worse," Mamoru said, with forced cheerfulness. "It'll get better." Usagi looked unconvinced. With another profound sigh, she reluctantly pulled away from his embrace.

"I should get home before my parents realize I'm gone."

"You want me to walk you?" Mamoru asked. Usagi shook her head.

"My parents already blame you for me sneaking out. The last thing I need is for them to see you hanging around this late."

"Alright. I'll try to get to your school tomorrow afternoon," Mamoru promised. Usagi smiled weakly and Mamoru noticed, with no small amount of concern, how tired she looked. "You go get some rest. I love you."

"I love you, too." With a quick kiss, the couple walked off in different directions. Mamoru looked back once and watched Usagi's figure disappearing into the shadows. She looked small, with her shoulders slightly hunched and her arms wrapped, tight and protective, around herself, and Mamoru fought the urge to go walk with her whatever her parents thought. He turned and walked towards the train station, determined to meet up with Usagi before _and_ after school, even if he had to leave early to catch her.

Usagi had been gone less than forty minutes by her count. She should be able to get back in before her parents realized she had left. She sighed in relief as the door swung open quietly. She decided to go get a glass of water from the kitchen as an excuse in case one of her parents heard her going back to her room. As she walked past the living room, the light suddenly clicked on. Usagi jumped, instinctively reaching for her transformation brooch. Her parents sat waiting on the couch. Usagi froze.

"Where," her mother asked, her voice dangerously low, "have you been?"

"I was…" Usagi started uselessly.

"Where?" her father pressed. "And don't lie about going out for a walk. We went out to look for you. You weren't here." Usagi blanched for a moment and stuttered out her reply.

"I-I went to the playground," she told them, opting for a half truth. Ikuko's eyes narrowed.

"Why?" she demanded. "Give us a good reason Usagi." Usagi couldn't think of anything to tell them.

"We don't know what else to do," Kenji said. He stood up and paced the floor. "We've grounded you; taken away privileges; we have given you every chance to be straight with us. What else can we do, Usagi? All we are asking you now is to tell us why you're sneaking out. Is it that boy?"

"No…" Usagi fought the urge to sink to her knees in exhaustion.

"Drugs? Alcohol?" Ikuko demanded. Usagi shook her head. Ikuko let out a huff of exasperation. "You have to give us something, Usagi."

"I can't," Usagi managed to say through the tear threatening to spill over.

"Why can't you tell us?" Ikuko pleaded. "What is so big that you feel you have to sneak around and keep secrets from us? Have we made you feel like you can't confide in us?" Usagi didn't trust herself to speak just then. She had to talk to the girls. She had to get them to understand that she couldn't keep her secret from her parents anymore. In the morning, she would ask Luna to call an emergency meeting. It would all be worked out.

"I'm sorry, Usagi," Ikuko whispered shaking her head sadly. Usagi looked up at her parents in confusion.

"About what?" Kenji stopped pacing and stood next to his wife. Usagi's parents' faces were grim masks.

"You have a choice," Kenji said gravely. "You can agree to follow the rules we have set, or…or you have to leave." Usagi gaped uncomprehendingly. Ikuko squared her shoulders.

"The sneaking out has to end," she told Usagi. "Nothing else has worked. If you can't agree to live by our rules, then…" Ikuko's shoulders drooped forward and suddenly Usagi's mother looked very old.

"Will you please, just tell us?" Kenji asked once more. Usagi dropped her head defeated.

"I can't," she tearfully insisted. Ikuko breathed in sharply. Kenji's face became stone.

"Pack a bag," he said flatly. Usagi went to her room and threw some clothes into her back pack mechanically. She didn't cry. When she was done, she went downstairs. Her parents were gone, most likely to their room. She didn't go up to say good-bye. When she went to put on her shoes, she noticed a long white envelope sticking out of one. Usagi's parents had put enough cash inside of it for a night or two at a hostel and some food. Usagi quietly tucked the envelope inside of her bag and dazedly walked out of her home for the second time that night. She paused outside of the gate for a moment, unsure of where to go. Behind her, the living room light went out. With a shuddering sob, Usagi walked away, not caring where she was heading.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Makoto shot up in bed, muscles tensed, before she knew what had woken her up. Then she heard someone bang at her apartment door. Makoto listened in confusion as whoever was at her door pummeled it again. And then again. The unwelcomed visitor seemed to have every intention of continuing until Makoto answered. With a groan, Makoto looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was just after five in the morning. She had only gotten about two hours of sleep and she had to be up for school shortly. Whoever was at her door was going to get an earful. Makoto grumbled as she shuffled through her living room to the front door. She threw the door open with a scowl firmly in place.

"Who do you think you…" The tirade died on Makoto's lips as Usagi collapsed into her arms. "Usagi?"

Fear gripped Makoto as she hurriedly brought her friend inside and shut the door with her foot. Usagi was having trouble standing steadily on her own feet and Makoto looked her over for any obvious wounds or signs of attacked. When Usagi looked up at her, Makoto caught the strong scent of alcohol on her breath and realized that Usagi wasn't hurt. She was just incredibly drunk.

"Usagi have you been drinking?" Makoto asked in shock. She helped her friend over to the couch.

"Nonono!" Usagi insisted drunkenly falling over to her side. "I'm drunk! I mean…I'm drunk!...No, I mean…I forget… Have you tried this stuff? You can get it in the vendy 'chines. It burns, man, but 'ts good. Like, we should do this every weekend! For real!"

"That's good to know," Makoto said drily. Usagi sat up and looked at Makoto, and then to Makoto's surprise, started crying. Makoto sat next to her to comfort her, but Usagi reached up and started petting Makoto's hair.

"You have such pretty hair," Usagi cried, digging her fingers into Makoto's hair. Makoto winced and gently pulled Usagi's hands away from her head. "Why don't you wear it down? It's so pretty!"

"I don't have your patience with a comb," Makoto replied. Usagi shook her head uncomprehendingly.

"It's so pretty!" she declared through her tears. "So pretty!" Makoto sighed and went to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. When she came back to the living room, Usagi was lying on the floor reaching under the couch for something.

"What are you doing?" Makoto asked, gently helping her friend sit up. Usagi stared up at her with unfocused eyes and frowned.

"Can't find my bag," she mumbled.

"You didn't have a bag," Makoto told her. Usagi shook her head and almost fell over again.

"I packed one," she argued. "I packed a bag and left like Mom and Dad said." Usagi looked up at her friend again. Through her drunken haze, she looked suddenly stricken and she started crying again.

'Okay," Makoto said. "What's wrong, Usa? Why are you out at this hour? Why have you been drinking? This isn't like you." Usagi sobbed and leaned against Makoto.

"They kicked me o-o-out," she blubbered drunkenly. Makoto gasped.

"Your parents?" Usagi nodded.

"I kept sneaking out, so they kicked me out of the house." Usagi sat up, still sniffling, and crawled back up onto the couch. "I thought if I went ahead and did what they thought I was doing anyway, I'd feel better. But I don't!" Usagi wailed. "There's too much in my head and I feel…I feel...uggh…"

Makoto noticed her friend's face go green and she managed to grab her waste basket just in time to catch Usagi's vomit. She set the basket on the floor and held Usagi's hair away from her face as she threw up a frightening amount of a bluish liquid. Makoto assumed it was whatever Usagi was had been drinking. She rubbed her friend's shoulders comfortingly while Usagi retched and sobbed by turns.

"Y're a good-good frien," Usagi slurred between bouts of nausea. "I love you so much! Don' tell m' mom, okay?"

"I won't," Makoto promised. She wasn't entirely sure what Usagi was talking about. Finally, Usagi got to the point where nothing was coming up but dry heaves. Makoto wrapped a blanket around Usagi and went into the kitchen. She came back carrying a tray of toast, water, and coffee a few minutes later only to find that Usagi had fallen into a fitful sleep. Makoto set the tray on her coffee table and knelt beside her friend and princess.

"How'd we get into _this_ mess?" she asked out loud. She brushed Usagi's sweaty bangs away from her forehead. Usagi sniffled in her sleep and Makoto felt her heart clench. She and the girls knew that Usagi had a harder time balancing her home life and Senshi duties than they did, but Makoto didn't think anyone understood just how dire the situation had gotten. Part of her- a very large part- was angry with Usagi's parents for kicking their daughter out in the middle of the night with no place to go. Still, another, much, much smaller part of her knew that Usagi's parents were acting out of desperation and perhaps had seen one too many episodes of _Scared Straight_. Their daughter was lying and keeping secrets and sneaking out of the house. To them, it would certainly look like teenage rebellion spiraling down a dangerous path, because they didn't know what their daughter sacrificed every day to keep them and the entire planet safe. Because Usagi couldn't tell them. Makoto sighed again.

It just about six thirty in the morning. Makoto thought about calling the girls or Mamoru. They would be getting up soon for school anyway. Usagi snored once and burrowed deeper into her blanket. She looked peaceful. Makoto decided to let Usagi sleep. There would still be plenty to talk about later.

Makoto yawned. Exhaustion was finally catching up to her. There was no way, she told herself, she would make it school that day. She grabbed the blanket and pillow from her bed and set stretched out on the floor by the couch. She had heard horrible stories about drunk people choking to death on their own vomit because they were alone. Makoto checked on Usagi one more time, then stretched out on the floor and fell almost immediately to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

 _Rrring!_

 _Rrring!_

 _Rrring!_

Makoto rolled over with a huff and pushed herself off the floor to find her cell phone. She stumbled into her bedroom and took her phone off the charger just in time to miss the call completely. Minako's name flashed across the screen just before it went dark again. Makoto checked the time, and then checked it again. She had slept through to the middle of the afternoon. The girls would be out of school in a couple of hours. Makoto looked at her phone, wondering if she should call Minako back. She should be in class then, but if she called Makoto, she must be worried. A moment later Makoto felt her phone vibrate, telling her she had gotten a text. It was from Minako.

 _U ok?_

 _Y rnt u in schl?_

 _Hurt?_

Makoto thought for a moment before answering.

 _ **I'm fine.**_

 _ **Too tired for school**_

 _UGH! me 2!_

 _rents were unreasonable about it tho._

 _Ami's gonna bring ur hw._

Makoto poked her head out into the living room where Usagi was still sleeping off her night of binge drinking.

 _ **Not a good idea.**_

 _Like u have a choice :P_

 _Usa's not here either._

 _U heard from her?_

From the couch, Makoto heard Usagi beginning to stir. She let out a low, miserable sounding groan and Makoto winced in sympathy.

 _ **Yeah.**_

 _ **She's 2 beat fr school 2.**_

 _Srsly?_

 _Hr rents let her skip?_

 _So not fair! Some ppl have ALL the luck_

Makoto sighed and put her phone down. Something told her that lucky was the last thing Usagi would be feeling when she finally woke up. She went to check on Usagi. She was still sleeping, albeit more fitfully. Makoto's stomach growled and she decided to make herself something to eat while she waited for Usagi to wake up. She came back into the living room and turned the TV on to the lowest volume she could and still hear, and settled in to wait.

Usagi's head was pounding. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but the din hammering at her ears had her seeing red. She groaned and reached for her pillow. It wasn't there. Usagi cracked an eye open to look for it, but she was blinded by the brightest light she had ever seen.

"…eyes…!" she moaned in agony. She heard someone apologize and over the rest of the noise, the sound of fabric rustling.

"I closed the blinds. You can open your eyes." Usagi carefully opened one eye and was immediately assaulted by a barrage of flashing colors and bright light. She screwed her eyes shut and clamped her hands over her ears.

"TOO BRIGHT!" she wailed. "TOO LOUD!" Then she winced at the gravelly sound of her own voice. Whoever was with her laughed and a moment later the noise was gone. As were the bright lights, Usagi discovered when she opened her eyes experimentally for the third time. When her eyes adjusted to the dark, she looked around and realized she wasn't in her room. She sat up with a frightened gasp and looked around wildly. Makoto stood at the foot of the couch she was laying on with a remote control in her hand. She looked at her friend with a sympathetic smile.

"So, are hangovers as bad as they say?" she asked. Usagi lay back on the couch and ran her tongue across her teeth. They felt fuzzy and dry.

"You remember that movie we saw a few months ago? About the people in space?" she asked Makoto. Her voice was weak and raspy.

"I remember."

"You know that scene where the alien dug its way out of that guy's head?" Makoto made a face and nodded. "Well, that'd feel really good right now." Makoto let out a short laugh, but stopped when Usagi turned to her side and clutched her head. She went to the bathroom and got her friend a couple of aspirin tablets. Usagi accepted them gratefully.

"You think you could handle some food?" Makoto asked. Usagi's face went green and she pressed her lips tightly together. Makoto dove for the waste bucket, but Usagi managed to fight the nausea. "So that's a no."

"Don't even say the 'f-word' to me right now," Usagi managed to choke out.

"Okay," Makoto said. "But you need something with that aspirin." She went into the kitchen and came back with a glass of milk. Usagi looked at it with a look of absolute revulsion, but after Makoto made her take a few sips, she found that she could actually keep it down. She popped the aspirin and drank the whole glass and gratefully accepted when Makoto refilled her cup. She drank the second cup faster than the first and settled into the sofa cushions.

"Thank you," Usagi said quietly after a few moments of contemplative silence. She didn't look up at Makoto. She started at the empty glass in her hand looking embarrassed and ashamed of herself. Makoto sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Anytime," Makoto promised. Usagi leaned against her friend's shoulder and a moment later, Makoto felt her shaking. She was crying again. This time it was quiet sobs, not the drunken wailing from the night before, or her normal theatric bawling. Makoto let her cry as long as she needed to and even shed a few tears of her own on behalf of her friend.

"Everything's so screwed up," Usagi told Makoto. "I just want to die." She sounded so defeated then, Makoto realized in shock. Usagi never spoke like that. She was always the one buoying everyone else. It never occurred to Makoto that she needed it sometimes in return.

"What happened?" she asked once Usagi's crying subsided. Usagi explained how her parents had caught her sneaking in the night before and the ugly confrontation that led to her parents telling her to leave.

"I feel trapped," Usagi admitted. "I can't go back unless I tell them the truth. But I can't tell them the truth." Makoto frowned and turned to face Usagi.

"Why didn't you tell us that things had gotten so serious at home?" she asked. "We could have figured something out." Usagi pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest.

"I've been trying," Usagi sighed. "You all seemed to think I was exaggerating about everything. Luna said that you're all able to go out and function and do well at school, so I should be able to, too. But I don't bounce back like the rest of you do. Those fights take so much out of me. Rei thinks I'm flaky because I have to skip meetings to keep my parents happy. And the rest of you think I'm a drama queen. Whenever I try to talk about it seriously, you tell me I'm upset over nothing." Usagi dropped her head between her knees. Makoto wanted to answer Usagi, and tell her that she was wrong, that if she had told them how bad things were, they would have listened. But Makoto had to admit that maybe lately the rest of the Senshi had been missing some pretty serious signs.

Makoto looked at Usagi- really looked at her- and was shocked at what she saw. There were dark circles under her friend's eyes and she had lost weight. She looked way worse than even a night of binge drinking would have done. Makoto felt her heart break. How could they, her friends and guardians, not have noticed how much strain Usagi was under?

"Are you angry at us?" Makoto asked quietly. Usagi looked up, surprised at the question.

"I…I don't know." She dropped her eyes from Makoto's. "Maybe. I'm mad at just about everyone right now, except Mamoru. Even myself."

"Why are you mad at yourself?" Makoto asked. Usagi shrugged.

"I don't do as well as I could," she admitted. "I'm not as good at fighting as you guys are. I don't do as well in school. I'm not…strong. I'm not strong enough to be a Senshi and…" Usagi's eyes welled up once more and she leaned over and buried her face in the couch cushions.

"Usagi, you _are_ strong," Makoto insisted. "You're... you're _bleeding_!" Makoto gaped in horror as Usagi's blue shirt turned a gory red. The wound she had gotten the night before had somehow not healed, and it had reopened. Usagi lifted her arm and watched in confusion as the bloodstain spread. Makoto leapt off the couch and ran to get a dish towel to press against the wound.

"We have to go to the hospital!" she said frantically. "Why hasn't this healed up yet?"

"No hospitals!" Usagi insisted. "How would we explain this?"

"Well we have to do something!" Makoto tried frantically to stop the bleeding. "I'll tell Ami and Mamoru to come over!" Usagi tried to protest, but Makoto ignored her. School should be done for the day, but even if it wasn't, Makoto knew that the team's two medical experts would just about fly over when they found out what was happening. She grabbed her cell phone and texted Mamoru and Ami.

 _ **EMERGENCY!**_

 _ **get to my place asap and bring med stuff**_

 _ **usagi hurt! not lol!**_

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Mamoru skidded to a stop in front of Makoto's building. He had fortunately just gotten out of class and was on his way to Usagi's school to try to catch her on her way home. He wasted no time grabbing a first aid kit from one of his school's science labs and running the entire three miles to Makoto's apartment. Ami arrived just as he pressed for the elevator. She was as red as Mamoru imagined he was and she was also carrying a first aid kit. It looked more official than the one from Mamoru's high school, and he guessed with relief that it belonged to Ami's mother.

"This is taking too long," Ami muttered. "Why don't we take the stairs?" Mamoru was about to agree when the elevator slid open into the lobby. The two jumped in and pressed the button for Makoto's floor. Less than a minute later, they were at Makoto's door. Mamoru raised a fist and banged loudly and frantically. The door flew open after a moment and Makoto looked at her friends in bewilderment.

" _What_ ," she demanded, 'is everyone's problem with my door?" Mamoru and Ami looked around Makoto and saw Usagi doubled over on Makoto's couch clutching her head in agony.

"What's wrong?" Mamoru asked. He did a quick look over Usagi's head for injuries, and Ami pulled out a small flashlight to shine in Usagi's eyes. Groaning, Usagi pushed their hands away.

'My head isn't hurt, "she informed them crossly. "I've got a hangover." Ami and Mamoru stopped fussing over Usagi and stared at her in uncomprehending shock.

"A _hangover_?" they exclaimed at once. Usagi winced and pressed her hands tightly against her ears.

"Don't yell at me!" she whined

"We can deal with that later," Makoto said. She came over and pulled up Usagi's bloody shirt and the dishtowel to show Mamoru and Ami the reopened wound on Usagi's side. "We have bigger problems right now." Ami and Mamoru got to work quickly. Ami cleaned the wound and they realized that it wasn't as bad as the blood suggested. It had stopped bleeding and was beginning to close again. Had Usagi been anyone else, the wound would have looked remarkable for what her injury had been the night before. But Usagi wasn't anyone else; she was a Senshi. Her enhanced healing abilities should have taken care of her injury by now. Mamoru and Ami exchanged a concerned look before finishing up with Usagi. Ami smeared the gash with antibiotic ointment while Mamoru pulled out the gauze from both his and Ami's medical kits. Once they finished Makoto helped Usagi back to her room so she could change her shirt. Usagi would want a shower later, but no one thought she looked strong enough for it just yet. Though when she insisted on changing alone, no one stopped her.

"What made her wound open up again?" Makoto asked after Usagi shut her door.

"How much did she have to drink?" Mamoru asked. Makoto made a face at him.

"Seriously? You want to get into that _now_?"

"Alcohol thins your blood," he explained. "If she had a lot to drink, it could explain why she started bleeding."

"He's right," Ami said. She packed up her supplies and sat on the couch. "And she may have fallen and made it open again." Makoto chewed her thumbnail and shook her head.

"I'm not sure," she told them. "Based on how plastered she was when she got here, I'd say a lot. But Usagi is _maybe_ 110 pounds soaking wet, so it probably didn't take a whole lot to get her drunk."

"But, we also don't know how much it would take for us to get drunk," Ami added. "We all have pretty fast metabolisms and this isn't really an experiment we've tried."

"'Til now," Makoto muttered. Mamoru frowned and looked back towards Makoto's room.

"What happened?" he asked. "Why was she out drinking?" Makoto cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"I think I should let her tell you," she replied. She turned her sharp gaze on Ami and Mamoru and warned them protectively, "But don't either of you jump down her throat for this. Believe me, that's the last thing she needs right now."

Usagi came back to the living room in one of Makoto's old t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants. Her hair was out of its normal style and in a messy ponytail. She avoided her friends' eyes and sat down on the edge of the couch nervously, like a child ready to be scolded. If Mamoru or Ami had entertained any thoughts of lecturing her, they disappeared when they saw how beaten down she seemed. No one said anything for several minutes. Finally, Usagi sighed and glanced up.

"Well?" she said defensively. "Who's going to yell at me first?"

"No one," Makoto assured her, giving Mamoru and Ami one last, and unnecessary, meaningful gaze. Mamoru sat on the couch next to Usagi and took one of her hands in his.

"What happened, Usa?" he almost whispered. Without warning, Usagi launched herself into Mamoru's arms and, for what felt like the hundredth time since she arrived at Makoto's, broke down sobbing into his shoulder. Her friends waited while she cried. Makoto was heartbroken for her friend. Ami and Mamoru looked at her worriedly and silently asked her what was going on. She shook her head and motioned for them to wait. At last, Usagi stopped crying, but she still didn't seem to be in much of a hurry to explain what was going on.

"Usagi, you think you can eat now?" Makoto asked gently. Usagi shrugged carelessly, still leaning against Mamoru. "I'll make you a sandwich. You have to eat something."

"Fine," Usagi breathed out. She was exhausted, and not at all hungry, but Usagi realized that having food in her stomach might make the pounding in her head better. Ami and Mamoru were being patient- or, at the very least, they were trying very hard to hide their impatience- for the moment, but they would want an explanation. Eventually, Minako and Rei would have to be told the whole story too. Then of course, the Outer Senshi would get wind of the whole fiasco. The thought of it was enough to make Usagi cling tighter to Mamoru and hide her face in his chest, as if she could somehow make herself disappear into his arms. He held her just as close, determined to protect her from whatever was making her feel this way. He stroked her back comfortingly. It was as soothing as his scent.

Mamoru fought back a frustrated growl when he realized that Usagi had fallen asleep in his arms. When Makoto came out and saw that her friend was napping again, she sighed and set the tray of food on the coffee table.

"Second time she's done that," she muttered. "Should we wake her? She really does need to eat something. She hasn't eaten at least since she got here." Ami pulled out her minicomputer and did a quick scan of Usagi. After a few moments she frowned and put the computer away.

"I don't understand why she isn't bouncing back," Ami said, looking troubled. "Her energy is still very low. But," she hesitated before continuing, "I think she might need food right now more than she needs sleep." Mamoru nodded and shook Usagi gently.

"Usako," he said softly. "Makoto brought you some food." Usagi protested, but eventually pulled away from Mamoru, blinking blearily at the food on the table.

"Remind me to steer clear of alcohol," she muttered as she picked at her sandwich. "For the next…forever."

"Or at least 'til you're legal," Makoto joked. Usagi made a face at her and took a couple of half -hearted bites out of her meal. Then her appetite caught up with her and she quickly finished it off along with the soda Makoto had brought out with it. She felt better once she was done. Ami scanned her once more and seemed satisfied with what she saw. Usagi could feel her friends exchanging glances around her, and she knew she couldn't put off answering their questions. With a resigned sigh, Usagi curled up in the corner of the couch and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"My parents kicked me out," she told them plainly. She said it so quietly that Ami and Mamoru almost missed it. They stared at her, stunned, and unsure of what to say. Usagi quickly explained what had happened the night before with her parents. She didn't explain how she wound up drunk at Makoto's house in the early hours of the morning, though. Her friends could see that she wasn't in a mood to talk any more.

"How about another sandwich?" Makoto suggested. Usagi shook her head.

"You should really eat some more," Ami pressed. Usagi huffed and leaned back into the corner of the couch.

"Fine," she agreed. "But I don't want a sandwich. I want something greasy and fried and covered with gravy." Her friends laughed a little at that.

"Ah!" Makoto said, reaching for her phone. "The famous hangover cravings. How about I get us some burgers and poutine from that American place?" Usagi lifted her hand and gave her a thumbs up and Makoto called to place the order.

"I should actually get home," Ami said. "I want to get my mom's supplies back before she sees they're missing. But… I think we should have a meeting." Usagi groaned and let her head roll back, but Ami insisted. "At the very least, Luna needs to know what happened. Usa, we all care about you. I know you don't want to talk about it right now, but eventually we're all going to need to talk about this."

"I know," Usagi groaned. "But can't it wait until I don't feel like someone beat me with a baseball bat?"

"Tomorrow?" Makoto suggested, setting her phone down. "I can make dinner."

"Yeah, okay," Usagi reluctantly approved. "But I guess I should tell Luna tonight."

"She's still at my place," Ami said. "I'll let her know you want to talk. Call me if your wound opens again." Ami bid her friends good-bye and left. Makoto went to go clean up in the kitchen, leaving Mamoru alone with Usagi. He reached out for her hand. She ignored it and curled up into his side instead.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Not really," was the almost whispered reply. Usagi looked up at Mamoru with anguished eyes. "Mamo-chan, what am I going to do? I can't live on my own. I don't have _anything_. I don't even have the bag I packed last night, and all the money I had was in it. I don't have a job, or an apartment…I don't know where to even begin...I- I…" She buried her face in his neck and clung to him like a life line. She didn't cry again, but her breaths were coming out short and shaky.

"It's going to be okay, Usako," Mamoru promised. He stroked her back. "We'll figure this out. And, hey, if nothing else works, we could always push the wedding up, and you can live with me." Mamoru said it mostly as a joke, but Usagi froze and pulled away so she could look him in the eye.

"That's not funny," she told him. Mamoru smirked and held up his thumb and pointer finger.

"It's a little bit funny." Usagi shook her head.

"Not even sort of." Mamoru shrugged and kissed Usagi's forehead.

"I did mean it, though," he said. "I know it's not the way either of us wanted it to happen, but…at the end of the day, I don't care how big the wedding is, or who's there as long as we end up together." Usagi stared at Mamoru hard, considering the offer.

"We're too young," she reminded him. "We'd need my parents' permission." Mamoru's jaw tightened- he wasn't her parents' biggest fan just then- and he shrugged.

"We can ask. They might say yes." Usagi smiled faintly and rested her head on his shoulder.

"They don't like you very much right now. What if they say no?"

"Well, first of all, the feeling's mutual," Mamoru said grumpily. "And, we could always forge their signatures." Usagi sighed and shook her head.

"That's no good," she said, sadly. "I want you all to get along. I think we should wait." Mamoru chuckled weakly and ran his fingers through the hair over Usagi's ear.

" _You_ want to wait?" he asked. "Who are you, and what have you done with the _real_ Usagi?"

"You think it's a bad idea?" Usagi countered. Mamoru thought for a moment. As angry as he was with the Tsukinos, Mamoru already knew that Usagi wanted to fix things with her family, and he would support her. If they took off and got married behind their backs, it would only make things worse.

"Well," he said at last. "If you _insist_ on being rational about it. Where'd my impulsive Usako go?"

"I guess I'm a wise drunk," Usagi scoffed.

"No, you're definitely a sad drunk." Makoto came back into the living room, with a dish towel in her hands. "You started crying because I don't wear my hair down."

"I don't remember that," Usagi said with a frown. "But you really _should_ wear your hair down more. It's pretty.'

"So you told me," Makoto said with a smirk. "What are we talking about?"

"Mamoru proposed," she told her friend. Makoto's jaw fell.

" _What?_ I was only in the kitchen for ten minutes!"

"Don't worry," Mamoru assured her cheerfully. "She turned me down."

" _WHAT?_ " That made Usagi genuinely laugh. Makoto and Mamoru exchanged a brief relieved look. It was the first sign they had had all day that, even if it took a while, Usagi would be okay.

"My mouth tastes awful," Usagi announced. "Makoto, do you have an extra toothbrush?"

"You're in luck," Makoto said. She led Usagi to the back and gave her a toothbrush and a washcloth in case she wanted to clean up. Then she came back to the living room and dropped heavily into the chair across from the sofa.

"How are _you_ doing?" Mamoru asked. Makoto dragged her hands down the side of her face and rolled her head towards him.

"This has been _the_ longest day ever," she told him. "I'm just really glad she made it here. I keep thinking of all the ways this could have ended so much worse…what could have happened to her…"

"Let's not think about that right now," Mamoru cut her off. His face had gotten pale all the sudden, and Makoto realized that he was as scared as she was. They weren't used to the idea that the woman they had sworn to protect was vulnerable outside of an interstellar enemy attack. Makoto knew Usagi could handle herself- usually, anyway- but even the wielder of the most powerful object in the solar system could get into trouble wandering around drunk in the middle of the night alone. The buzzer rang and Makoto let the delivery guy up. Mamoru gave Makoto money for the food.

"Seriously, Mamoru?" Makoto favored him with a sardonic smirk. "I've got this."

"Please," Mamoru insisted. "I…I have to do _something_." Makoto hesitated a moment, and then took the money from him.

"Fine," she grumbled.

The food was set out when Usagi emerged from the bathroom, slightly cleaner and feeling a bit better. Mamoru stood up when she came into the living room and went to hug Usagi.

"I have to go to the library to work on a project," he said. "I'll come back later to see how you're doing." Usagi nodded and Mamoru gave her a quick kiss before he left. When the door shut, Usagi leaned heavily against the door. Makoto stood up in case her friend needed help. Usagi just turned to Makoto sadly.

"I'm going to pay you back," she promised. "For everything." Makoto's eyes widened in surprise and she chuckled.

"You don't have to worry about that," Makoto said. "Honestly, you're not putting me out at all. My parents left me pretty comfortable. You're welcome to stay as long as you need to. No charge." Usagi shook her head.

"I have no idea how long I'm going to be here. I can't ask you to take care of me like that…I don't know, maybe Motoki can get me a job at Crown, or I could be waitress, or work at a store, or..." Usagi turned her eyes to her feet. "I can't stay here and not help out." Makoto shook her head, but decided it wasn't worth arguing over.

"Hey, we can figure it all out later," she promised her friend. "For now, you just need to focus on getting better. Let's dig in before the gravy congeals." Usagi smiled and sat down next to Makoto in front of the spread she laid out on the table. She grabbed a few gravy covered fries and looked over at Makoto.

"I hope this really does cure hangovers."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Mamoru came back a few hours later, as he promised, and found Usagi alone. Makoto had left to go grocery shopping after making sure Usagi was feeling well enough to be left on her own. While she was gone, Usagi had showered, changed her gauze and straightened up the living room. When Mamoru knocked, she was in the middle of tying up the kitchen garbage to take out. It was in her hand when she opened the door for him.

"Hey!" she greeted him, happy to see him again.

"Hi." Mamoru frowned at the trash bag in her hand. "What are you doing?" Usagi smiled sheepishly.

"Uh…helping?" she answered. "I don't like feeling like a freeloader."

"Usako, no one thinks you're freeloading," Mamoru assured her, taking the trash bag. "And you shouldn't be moving so much. We don't want you to start bleeding again." Usagi waved off his concern.

"It's better. I changed the gauze and it's almost healed." Mamoru nodded gratefully.

"Still, I'd rather you didn't take any chances." Usagi huffed irritably and folded her arms.

"I'm not made of glass, you know." Mamoru blinked in surprise.

"Of course not," he said. "But you were still hurt pretty badly. Not to mention coming down from a serious hangover." Usagi scowled at the floor. Mamoru sighed and drummed his fingers against the doorframe. Usagi looked better than she did that afternoon. She was still too pale for his comfort, but he didn't think saying so would help. Though maybe some fresh air would.

"Think you're feeling well enough to take a short walk with me?" he asked after a moment. Usagi looked up and quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You're not going to try to carry me, are you?" she asked suspiciously. Mamoru laughed and shook his head.

"I won't, I promise. But if you're nice, maybe we can stop for ice cream." Usagi grinned at him.

"Deal!" she agreed. "Let me grab a sweater." She ducked into the hall closet and came back with one of Makoto's hoodies.

The couple stopped in the alley to toss the garbage in a bin, and walked leisurely around the block. There was a playground not too far from Makoto's building and Mamoru led Usagi over to a bench to sit.

"This is nice," Usagi murmured, leaning into Mamoru. "I've really missed doing this with you."

"Me, too," Mamoru said. He played with a lock of her hair. It was still damp from her shower, but it was a warm enough night that it didn't really seem to bother her.

"It almost makes me want to skip the ice cream and just stay here a while." Mamoru turned to her with an eyebrow raised skeptically.

" _You_ want to skip ice cream?" He asked. "Are you _sure_ you're feeling okay." Usagi slapped his chest lightly.

"I said _almost_. You're not getting out of a trip to the ice cream shop, mister." Mamoru chuckled.

"There's the Usagi I know and love." Usagi smiled up at him, feeling truly content for the first time in months. They sat on the bench for a while. Usagi stared at a flickering street lamp and shifted uncomfortably.

"Does your side hurt?" Mamoru asked. Usagi blinked and turned to look at Mamoru.

"Huh? Oh, no. Not really. It's just kind of itchy." Mamoru frowned and looked at Usagi in deep consideration.

"Does it usually take you this long to heal?" Usagi sat up and picked at her thumb.

"Sometimes," she admitted. "I mean, it depends on how bad I'm hurt. But nothing's ever opened back up like it did this time."

"How come you didn't tell me?" Usagi bit her lip and shrugged, avoiding Mamoru's eyes.

"I didn't want you to change how are in a fight," she explained. "You already do so much to keep me safe. I was worried if you knew how long it took for me to heal completely, it would distract you." Mamoru's frown deepened. He couldn't fairly argue that she was wrong, but he still felt that her hiding the problem wasn't the answer.

"Usako, has it always been that way? Did it take that long before you got the Crystal." Usagi thought for a moment, and then slowly shook her head.

"Actually, no," she said. "I don't think it did. You think the Crystal has something to do with it?" She looked at him in surprise. "That's the opposite of what it's _supposed_ to do."

"Yes, but the power has to get channeled through you," Mamoru explained. "The Crystal is theoretically a limitless source of power, but you only have so much energy to direct that power with. It's possible that using the Crystal is too draining for you to heal as quickly as you should." Usagi frowned at that.

"Great," she huffed irritably. "So, I'm too weak to use the Crystal now, too?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all, "Mamoru said. "I want to look into this with Ami. I think it's more like we need to figure out how to keep up with the amount of energy you're using."

"How?" Usagi scrunched her nose.

"Well, you know how we're always teasing you about how much you eat?" Usagi looked at Mamoru suspiciously.

"Ye~es," she answered slowly. Mamoru smirked drily.

"I think maybe you're actually not eating enough." Usagi stared at her boyfriend in disbelief.

"No kidding…"

"Have you been eating any differently lately?" Mamoru asked. "Have you been eating less?"

"Sort of." Usagi shrugged. "I mean sometimes, when I'm stressed out, I can't eat anything. My appetite usually comes back later, but… I don't…it's been a while since I _wasn't_ stressed." Mamoru took a moment to examine Usagi. Everything she was wearing was Makoto's, Mamoru noticed. Her friend's clothes looked much baggier on Usagi, and it highlighted how much weight Usagi had lost. Mamoru frowned in concern. She looked as if she had been very sick recently.

"We'll figure this out," he promised. He laced his fingers through Usagi's and kissed the back of her hand. "In the meantime, let's got get that ice cream." Usagi happily agreed, and Mamoru was determined to buy her the biggest sundae with whatever toppings she wanted.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Usagi was looking a lot better, Mamoru noticed with some satisfaction. She smiled contentedly as they walked back to Makoto's apartment. She had agreed to let him and Ami run some tests on her the next day before the rest of the girls came over for dinner, but Mamoru was sure he was on the right track simply by observing how much better she was doing. The dark circles had faded a bit from her eyes and she looked considerably less pale. Mamoru was sure Usagi would be back to normal once they could figure out a plan for her. He just wished that the rest of her problems could be as easily solved.

Makoto was home when they got back. She smiled nervously when she opened the door for the couple.

"Luna just got here," she quietly informed Usagi. "She's been worried. She said she dropped by your house before school and didn't know where you had gone." Usagi's face colored with shame. She hadn't really spoken to Luna since their last argument a month earlier. Mamoru laced his fingers through hers and she shot him a weak smile, and they walked in together. Luna was perched on the coffee table, nervously grooming herself. She looked up when Usagi came in and leapt off of the table and into her charge's arms.

"Usagi!" she cried, licking Usagi's face with her rough tongue. "Ami told me you were hurt! What happened? Why didn't you tell me you weren't healing?"

"What did you hear?" Usagi asked. She hugged Luna and sat down on the couch. Mamoru and Makoto sat on either side of her for moral support. Luna explained that Ami told her that Usagi had been injured in the battle the night before and it hadn't healed completely, and had reopened.

"But, Usa, why are you here at Makoto's?" Luna asked. Usagi stiffened and dropped her gaze from Luna.

"My parents kicked me out," she explained. "And then I bought a bottle of liquor, and got just completely wasted."

" _What_?" Luna gaped up at Usagi, who almost laughed at her guardian's flabbergasted expression. She explained to Luna what happened, and then she explained to Luna and Mamoru the reasoning that led her to buying the alcohol in the first place.

"I learned my lesson," she promised. "It was way more awful than I thought it would be. It burned going down, and I'm pretty sure I had an entire conversation with a streetlight. That's probably where I left my bag with all my clothes and money." She let out a half-hearted chuckle, trying to make light of the situation, but it fell flat.

"Oh, Usagi," Luna whispered. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea things were getting so tense. Do the rest of the girls know?" Usagi shook her head.

"I've invited them for dinner tomorrow," Makoto told her. "We didn't think Usagi would be up to answering everyone's questions tonight." Luna swept a careful eye over her charge and agreed. Usagi looked much better than she had that morning, but she was still visibly drained. Luna rubbed her head against Usagi's cheek.

"We'll figure this out, Usagi," she promised. Usagi sighed and scratched Luna's ears distractedly.

"That seems to be today's theme," she said drily. "But the good news is I think I'm done with my rebellious teenage phase."

"I guess we can be grateful for that," Luna sighed. Usagi leaned against Mamoru's shoulder and blinked sleepily.

"We should let you get some rest," Mamoru suggested. "Do you think you'll be okay to go to school tomorrow?" Usagi leaned her head back and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Am I ever okay to go to school?" she retorted. Mamoru laughed and kissed her forehead.

"I guess not," he said. "Ami and I will drop by tomorrow morning to check on you." Usagi nodded, but she was already half asleep. Mamoru and Makoto got up so Usagi could stretch out. She was asleep only a moment later. Luna jumped up on the arm rest at Usagi's feet. She had her tail curled tightly around her feet, and she was visibly shaking.

"I shouldn't have left," she almost whispered. Makoto reached over and scratched Luna's ears.

"Don't you start blaming yourself," she chided softly. "You guys had a fight. You both needed space."

"I'm not sure if there's anything you could have done to stop it," Mamoru comforted Luna. "Unless you decided to tell them what was going on."

"I could have stopped her from drinking," Luna pointed out. "I could have stopped her from wandering drunkenly around the streets at night."

"I don't know," Makoto said thoughtfully. "We all know how stubborn Usagi can be when she gets an idea in her head. If she was really determined to get drunk, you being there wouldn't have changed much." Luna sighed and lay down on the arm rest.

"We should keep it down," she said, glancing over at Usagi. "We don't want to wake her." Mamoru scratched the cat's ears and said goodnight to his two friends. With a last lingering look at Usagi, he left, shutting the door quietly behind him. Makoto stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

"Are you hungry?" she asked Luna. Luna shook her head and settled down on the armrest.

"No," she answered. "Go on to bed. You have school tomorrow, too."

"Well, if you insist," Makoto said, yawning again. "Good night, Luna."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

Ami and Mamoru were at Makoto's first thing in the morning, as promised. Makoto opened the door for them with an exasperated look on her face. Usagi was still sleeping on the couch with the blanket pulled up over her head, and Luna looking down in amusement at her from the armrest.

"She's impossible to wake!" Makoto complained. "I've shaken her, yelled, thrown water at her. I don't know what else to do."

"Is she sick?" Mamoru asked. He went over to check on his girlfriend.

"Probably not," Ami said amusedly. "Usagi is just a heavy sleeper. Too bad we don't have Rei here. She's an expert at waking Usagi." Makoto laughed at that.

"Yeah, but it always ends in a shouting match," she reminded Ami. "My neighbors would probably not appreciate that."

"In the meantime, we have to make sure she's okay so we can get to school," Mamoru said. He leaned over the couch and shook Usagi gently. "Usako, it's time to get up."

"Mrrrph!" Usagi complained, waving a hand in Mamoru's direction. "Fie mints…" Makoto smirked at Mamoru's attempts and shook her head.

"Oh, sure. Because _no one's_ ever tried that before." Luna stood up and stretched her back.

"I know what to do," she said. She jumped from the armrest to the blanket covering Usagi's legs. She pawed the blanket off of Usagi's feet, and then she leaned down and gave Usagi's big toe a sharp nip.

"YEOW!" Usagi shot up, throwing the blanket along with Luna to the floor. She looked around the room trying to remember where she was and why. When her mind caught up with her, Usagi groaned and flopped back onto the couch with her arm slung across her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's 6.30," Makoto said. Usagi groaned again.

"Why are you waking me up so early?" she whined. "School doesn't start til 8.30."

"We have to make sure you're doing better," Mamoru told her. "And _I_ have to be at school at 7.45." Usagi lowered her arm and looked at her boyfriend sympathetically.

"I am so, so sorry." Mamoru laughed at her and held out his hand to her.

"You can make me feel better about it by cooperating," he told her. Usagi rolled her eyes, and took his outstretched hand and let him pull her into a sitting position.

"How are you feeling today?" Ami asked. She lifted Usagi's shirt and pulled the bandages aside to look at the wound.

"I'd be better if you guys would let me sleep," Usagi grumbled.

"You slept through most of yesterday," Makoto reminded her. She folded her arms and looked at her friend pitilessly. Usagi just pouted.

"You're just about all healed," Ami said. She frowned slightly and twirled a lock of her hair thoughtfully. "But it really should be completely gone by now."

"Mamo-chan said that you two would have to run some tests on me," Usagi said. "Because it takes me longer to heal than it should."

"Yes," Ami confirmed, replacing the bandage and Usagi's shirt. "We've already talked about a few possible tests."  
"Well, how about we do that instead of school today?" Usagi suggested hopefully.

"I'm game!" Makoto agreed. Ami and Mamoru favored them both with matching deadpan gazes.

"Yeah, you're definitely back to normal," Mamoru said, shaking his head. "I really have to get going. I'll see you after school." Usagi stood and gave him a quick kiss.

"Have a good day," she said. When the door closed, she turned her wide eyes to her friends. "Do I _really_ have to go to school today?"  
"Yeah," Makoto replied with a sympathetic shrug. "Sorry, kid, but if I have to go, you have to go." Usagi stuck her tongue out at Makoto, and then sighed again. She picked at her thumb nervously.

"Can we…can we not tell Minako about all of this just yet?" she asked. She looked up at Ami and Makoto pleadingly. "I'll tell her and Rei everything when they come over, but I don't want to keep explaining it." Ami and Makoto exchanged a quick concerned glance.

"We won't say anything," Ami promised. "For now, as far as Minako needs to know, you were just out sick yesterday."

"I'll tell her not to bug you too much," Makoto said. "And I packed you a lunch!" Usagi smiled at her friends gratefully. Suddenly she stood upright and groaned.

"Oh _no_!" she wailed. "I don't have any clothes! I can't go in this!" Usagi pulled at the sleep rumpled clothes she had borrowed from Makoto. Ami grinned and held up a bag.

"Don't worry, I brought one of my uniforms," she said. "We're about the same size. I bought you a pack of panties, too." Usagi accepted the bag gratefully.

"You guys are the best!" She went to the bathroom, bag in hand for a quick change. Makoto was already dressed for school. She invited Ami into the kitchen for breakfast.

"So, how are you doing?" Ami asked, accepting a cup of tea. Makoto chuckled and rubbed her eyebrow, shrugging at her friend.

"Oh, I'm alright," she said. "Mamoru asked me the same thing last night. I'm okay. It's just a good thing I live alone." Makoto told Ami the story of Usagi's arrival.

"Ha! Yeah," Ami agreed. "My mom is understanding of a lot of things, but I don't think even she would have been okay with one of my friends showing up drunk looking for a place to crash." Makoto sighed.

"So… how long do you think it'll be before we can all laugh at this?" Makoto asked.

"How about next millennium?" Ami and Makoto jumped at the sound of Usagi's voice. She stood at the entrance of the kitchen with her arms folded. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Makoto leaned against the countertop and smirked at Usagi.

"That's way too long," she said. "Five years."

"Five hundred!"

"Five months!" Usagi made a face at Makoto.

"You're a jerk."

"I know." Makoto winked at her friend. Usagi huffed irritably and pulled at the skirt she was wearing. Ami's clothes fit her better than Makoto's but they were still a little too big, Ami noticed with concern.

"Do you have any safety pins?" she asked. Makoto went to her room to grab a couple of pins from her sewing kit with no comment and fixed Usagi's skirt. When she was done, Ami held up another bag for Usagi.

"I pulled some strings and got you some replacement books," she said. Usagi was torn between gratitude and annoyance. She chose to smile at her friend and take the bag.

"Of _course_ you did," she laughed. Ami winked.

"I did yesterday's assignments for you." Usagi's jaw dropped and she gasped sharply.

"You did _not_!" she squealed. " _Seriously_?" Now Ami laughed.

"Hey!" Makoto protested. "What about me? _I_ did most of the nursing."

"Yes, I did yours, too." Ami pulled some pages out of her bag and handed them to her friends. She looked at them sternly as they took them. "And I added in enough mistakes that your teachers won't think you cheated. But this is the _only_ time this will happen."

"What about the next time I'm too hurt and hungover to go to class?" Usagi asked.

"Make sure it happens when we don't have school," Ami said unsympathetically. Usagi huffed, and then shrugged.

"Well, there go my plans for Thirsty Thursdays," she said. She tucked the pages into her new book bag and set her shoulders grimly. "Alright, I'm ready."

"For battle, Drama Queen?" Makoto laughed.

"I'd rather go to battle than face Haruna," Usagi muttered. Her friends laughed, mostly from relief and the three girls set off for school.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Minako could tell something was up. Usagi had been cagey all day, and that was when Minako could get her to say anything at all. Ami and Makoto, she noticed, were acting strange, too. They seemed to be running interference between her and Usagi. She finally managed to corner Makoto during lunch to ask her. Ami had whisked Usagi off somewhere. To study, she had explained, but there had been guilt in Usagi's eyes.

"Okay," Minako said. She planted her hands on her hips and stood over Makoto menacingly. "You have beans and I _demand_ that you spill them!" Makoto looked up at her friend, with her chopsticks dangling from her lips, and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Minako," she replied calmly. She patted the grass beside her. "Join me." Minako glared at her and took the patch on the opposite side of Makoto. "You want any of my lunch?"

"Don't give me that!" Minako exclaimed, snatching a ball of takoyaki from Makoto's bento. "You three are hiding something, and I know it's something to do with Usagi." Makoto's face fell momentarily, but Minako spotted it. "Aha! There!"

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked, trying and failing to seem innocent.

"Your face! You look _so_ guilty right now! Tell me what's wrong!" Makoto's shoulders slummed forward and she shook her head apologetically.

"I can't say anything," she admitted. "I'm sorry, but I just can't."

"Why not?" Minako was almost whining. "Look, if there's something wrong, I _deserve_ to know. I _am_ the leader of the guardians, and Usagi is _my_ friend, too. Did something happen with her parents?" That was a stab in the dark, but the look on Makoto's face told Minako that she was on the right track.

"Minako, I promise, we'll tell you everything at dinner tonight," Makoto swore. "You can't ask Usagi about it right now, though." Minako's eyes widened with confusion and worry.

"Well, how come you and Ami know what's going on? Does Rei know? Does Mamoru?"

"No, Rei doesn't know. Don't call her and freak her out about it. Ami and I know because…well, we kind of had to know. And-come on- of _course_ Mamoru knows." Makoto shut her bento and stood up. Minako scrambled to her feet after her.

"Is she okay?" Makoto shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"All I can say is that no one is dying and the world isn't in danger." Minako stomped her foot and stopped just short of a full-blown whine.

"Wait, can't you give me more than that? I need to know more than that."

"Sorry, Mina," Makoto apologized sincerely. "Just…don't be late tonight, okay? I'm going to the home ec room to work on a project. I'll see you later." Minako stared after her friend. She was equal parts worried and angry about being left out, which only served to fuel an almost unbearable frustration. Still, the rational part of her- the part that was the protector of the last heiress of the Lunarian Kingdom- knew that Makoto wouldn't have insisted on secrecy if she didn't think it was important. Minako set her mouth grimly and swore to herself that for once, she would show up on time.

If Minako had a hard time waiting for the day to end, Usagi was wishing for it to slow down. All too soon for her liking, the final bell of the day rang releasing the students from class. Ami hurried Usagi to their lockers where Makoto was giving Minako the information for that evening again.

"Don't come before seven," she was warning her friend. "Seriously. I'm going to be busy cooking and the last thing I need is you asking two thousand questions while I'm trying to make garlic bread." Minako agreed reluctantly. She perked up when she saw Usagi and Ami.

"Hey!" she greeted them brightly. "Do you feel like going to the arcade?" Usagi flinched a little at the question. Ami spared her the trouble of replying.

"Sorry, Minako," she said. "We're actually working on a project."

"Oh…" Minako forced back a frown. Usagi saw the hurt on her friend's face.

"It's…Crystal related," she explained hurriedly. "We'll explain later, okay?" Minako blinked in surprise, but nodded. She had no choice. Ami linked her arm through Usagi's and dragged her away. Minako turned back to Makoto, only to find an empty space in front of their lockers. Minako huffed in frustration and took her phone out to call Rei. _Someone_ was going to the arcade with her.

Ami took Usagi back to her apartment building. Mamoru was already waiting for them in the lobby. Ami led the way to the elevators, and then, to Usagi's surprise, she pressed the down button.

"We need the basement," she explained. "We're going to start in the gym. There are private meeting rooms downstairs, too. I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be bothered."

"What are we doing?" Usagi asked. There was nervous tinge to her voice.

"Don't worry," Ami assured her. "This won't take long, and it won't hurt." The elevators slid open, but Usagi hesitated before she followed Ami and Mamoru out. That, she thought, was what every doctor said right before the pain started.

"We had better get started if we're going to make it to Makoto's on time," she said.

Ami and Mamoru had come up with a barrage of tests for Usagi. Ami hooked her friend up to an electrocardiogram- not really wanting to ask how Mamoru had managed to get his hands on one- and had her run on a treadmill in the gym. As Usagi ran, the other two took careful records of her vital signs. Usagi kept up an impressive pace, but she was already feeling tired by the end. They had her run for about half an hour before moving on to the next round of tests.

Ami had set up a makeshift medical lab in a windowless conference room. Usagi looked around at the equipment in wonder. There was a blood pressure cuff, a glucose meter, a centrifuge and empty vials and packaged needles for blood samples. Mercury's computer sat in the middle of the table along with a box of medical gloves. Usagi gulped when she saw the array. Ami cleaned her hands with a generous dollop of anti-bacterial hand sanitizer and snapped the gloves on. Mamoru steered Usagi to a chair and eyed the blood vials dubiously.

"Are you running blood tests?" he asked. "Is that a good idea with Usagi being so drained." Ami pointed to a paper bag sitting at one end of the table.

"I've thought of that," she told them. "There are protein bars and iron supplements. It's not much, but it should hold you over until dinner." Usagi, who really was beginning to feel a bit hungry, reached for the bag.

"Awesome!" she said. Ami stopped her with an apologetic smile, and held up the glucose meter.

"Sorry, you'll have to wait until I'm finished." Usagi sighed and gave Ami her hand. She flinched slightly when the sharp needle pierced the skin on her finger. Ami quickly collected the drop of blood that welled up and waited a few seconds for the meter to process the sample. When the palm sized machine started beeping, Mamoru peered over Ami's shoulder at the reading and frowned.

"Sixty-two," he murmured. "That's pretty low." Ami nodded in agreement.

"Is that bad?" Usagi asked. Ami smiled slightly.

"It's not great," she admitted. "But we can get that up. How do you feel?" Usagi's shouldered slipped forward.

"Tired," she said. "I really would love a nap. What else is new, right?"

"That's normal when your blood sugar is low," Mamoru told her. "It's an easy fix though. You'll be back to napping for the sheer pleasure of it in no time." Usagi grinned at him.

"I've got one more test," Ami said. She held up a needle. "I want to check your iron." Usagi groaned when she saw the needle.

"Is this _really_ necessary?"

"Afraid so, Usa," was Ami's grim reply. "But don't worry, I'll be done soon."

"How do you even know how to do this?" Usagi asked, making a face. Ami shrugged.

"My mom showed me." Usagi exchanged a look with Mamoru as Ami tied on the tourniquet. Ami inserted the needle expertly and filled two vials before letting Usagi go.

"Go ahead and eat while I finish this," Ami said. She put the vials in the centrifuge, and the whirring sound of the machine filled the small room. Mamoru followed Usagi to the end of the table where the bag of food was.

"I'm _starving_!" Usagi declared. She fell on the bag and pulled out a protein bar. She offered Mamoru a bite, but he declined it.

"I don't think you'd forgive me," he joked. Usagi laughed, but didn't say he was wrong. By the time she finished the second protein bar, Ami had finished with her last test. She scribbled down the results and called Mamoru over to look them over with her. Usagi drummed her fingers nervously until they came back.

"So, you're iron and blood sugar levels are very low," she told Usagi. "You burned a lot of calories in a very short time on the treadmill. And that wasn't even your top speed. The good news is it looks like we were right, and most of this can be fixed by upping your calorie intake."

"Like, by how much?" Usagi asked.

"We'll have to play around with it," Mamoru explained. "But I think 3500 calories is a good place to start. It's probably going to depend on how often you actually use the Crystal."

"Thirty-five hundred calories?" Usagi mulled. "That's a _lot_ of ice cream."

"You can't _just_ eat ice cream," Ami warned her.

"Oh, come on!" Usagi protested. "You just said my sugar blood is down!"

"Blood sugar," Ami corrected her. "And you can have ice cream, but you also need more iron and protein in your diet. I'm sure Makoto can help you come up with meals that you'll enjoy." Usagi's stomach gurgled just then.

"Can we start with the pasta dinner she's making tonight?" Ami and Mamoru laughed at her.

"Yes, we should head over," Mamoru agreed. "Let's get this cleaned up." Ami and Mamoru made short work of breaking down the equipment and stashing it until Mamoru could come back for it. Ami prepared Usagi's blood samples for disposal, and then they headed out.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Makoto stared at Rei and Minako awkwardly. Luna and Artemis were milling around the living room, speaking quietly, and being no help in breaking the mood.

Rei and Minako had waited until seven, as promised, and then immediately rang the doorbell. Minako had informed Rei on what was going on, and she was as anxious as Minako to know what was happening. Since Makoto refused to tell them anything before Usagi got there, and Rei and Minako refused to speak about anything else, they sat in uncomfortable silence. Unfortunately, it was getting close to 7:15, and Usagi, Ami and Mamoru were still not there.

"So…" Makoto started. "You want some soda or something?"

"I want the truth!" Minako snapped.

"We can handle the truth!' Rei declared. Makoto blinked in surprise. She sat back in her seat, hoping desperately that the others would arrive soon. Her wish was granted a few minutes later. Mamoru buzzed up to be let in and shortly after that there was a knock at the door. Makoto turned to Minako and Rei pleadingly.

"Seriously, _please_ don't immediately jump down Usagi's throat," she whispered. Then she threw the door open, and Usagi came in, flanked by grim looking Mamoru and Ami. She smiled hesitantly at Rei and Minako.

"Hey, guys," she greeted them.

"What happened?" Rei demanded.

"Why weren't you at school yesterday?" Minako chimed. "And why do Makoto and Ami know before we do?" Makoto's voice rose above her.

"I said _don't_ immediately jump down her throat!"

"It's fine," Usagi said. She sighed and walked over to the couch. "I was thinking, maybe we can call Setsuna and the others. I don't want to have to keep telling this story over and over." Minako and Rei exchanged worried glances, while Makoto ran to grab her phone and dialed Setsuna. The head of the Outer Senshi picked up on the second ring.

"Hi, Makoto," she greeted over the speaker. "Good to hear from you."

"Hey Setsuna," Makoto replied. "All of the girls and Mamoru are here. We were hoping to have kind of an impromptu meeting. Are the others with you?" Setsuna's voice switched to her business tone, and she could be heard to whispering away from the receiver.

"Haruka and Michiru are here," she said. "Hotaru's at a sleepover, but we can fill her in later.

"What's going on?" Haruka asked.

"That's what _we_ want to know!" Minako exclaimed. "Rei and I are the only ones here who don't know what's going on. All we know is that _something_ happened to Usagi."

"Is Usagi okay?" Michiru asked, already sounding concerned.

"Usagi's fine," Usagi responded with a sigh.

"Go ahead," Mamoru encouraged her. "Tell them." After so many recitations, Usagi discovered it was a lot easier to begin this time. She settled into her seat and took a deep breath.

"So, my parents caught me sneaking in after that last battle," she told her friends. "And they…kicked me out." That got pretty much the reaction out of her friends that Usagi expected. There was an explosion of outrage and questions from everyone who was just finding out, and everyone who already knew were moving in towards Usagi protectively. Usagi tried to get everyone's attention back, but she couldn't make herself heard over the shouting. Mamoru saw her struggling. He raised his fingers to his mouth and let out a long, piercing shriek. When everyone fell silent, he stopped.

"I know everyone's got questions," he said, "but Usagi isn't done speaking. Let her finish, and then you can all freak out."

"Actually, if we could skip the freaking out, that'd be great," Usagi said. She continued her story, taking time to explain to the Outer Senshi the tensions that had been rising at home. Her friends stayed silent as she explained the events that lead to her parents throwing her out. Then how she wound up at Makoto's. She didn't leave anything out, including how she had drunkenly left all of her belongings somewhere in the park, and how her injury had reopened. When she was done, no one said anything immediately.

"Are you okay?" Haruka broke the silence at last. Usagi shrugged.

"I'm better than yesterday, at least." She let her head fall back onto the couch.

"I can take you shopping tomorrow," Setsuna offered. "You'll need clothes."

'You don't have to do that," Usagi insisted. "I'm just…I just wanted to…" Usagi sighed and sank into the cushions behind her.

"Go on, Usagi," Luna encouraged the young woman. Usagi chewed her bottom lip and looked around at her friends.

"I think I should tell them," she said. She shifted and picked at a hang nail on her thumb. "I can't…I can't keep this from them anymore. And I know you're all willing to help, but…couch surfing isn't going to work for long. And I don't want you all to have to take care of me-"

"Usagi," Makoto said. "Honestly, we don't-"

"I know, I know, you don't mind," Usagi cut in. "But _I_ mind. I _want_ to go home. I can't do that unless I tell my parents the truth. I won't tell them if you don't want me to, though." Usagi couldn't meet anyone's eye. Mamoru reached out and took one of her hands. She flashed him a quick smile. "I wanted to make sure it was okay with everyone. After all, if you know one of our identities, you can probably figure out everyone's. I won't do it if anyone doesn't want me to."

Silence once again. It was a problem that they all knew they had considered, but no one had actually thought about the ramifications of telling their families. Usagi sat up straighter and looked around at her friends.

"I'm serious," she told them. "If any one of you doesn't want me to tell, I won't."

"What will you do?" Minako asked. Usagi shrugged, but tried very hard to look brave.

"I don't know yet," she said. "But I'll figure it out. You can all take some time to think about it." Over the phone, Usagi could hear the Outers talking, but one of them must have been covering the receiver, because their voices were muffled. A moment later, Michiru spoke up.

"Usagi, we're going to have to discuss this," she said. "Can we talk tomorrow?"

"Take all the time you need," Usagi replied. "I completely understand."

"We won't keep you waiting," Setsuna promised. "We'll come to see you tomorrow."

"You'll still be at Makoto's, right?" Haruka asked. Usagi glanced over at her friend.

"Yeah, she'll be here," Makoto said firmly. "She'll be here as long as she needs."

"Okay, we'll be over tomorrow." The two groups said their good-byes, and the phone signaled the end of the call.

"Well," Makoto said, clapping her hands. "I guess we should have dinner now."

The group gathered around the table, where Makoto had laid out a spaghetti dinner. It was simple, but it smelled incredible. Still, once everyone was seated, no one dug in. After a few moments, Makoto picked up the salad bowl and filled her plate.

"Who else wants?" she asked. Ami took it next, then passed it pointedly to Usagi. When she made a face, Ami pressed her.

"It's spinach salad," she said. "You need the iron." Usagi rolled her eyes, but relented. She put enough salad on her plate to please Ami and then passed the bowl on.

"Okay." Rei slammed her fork down. Her startled friends snapped their head up towards her. "Are we seriously not going to talk about this?"

'Rei," Minako said, "maybe we should-"

"Should what?" Rei cut in. "Talk? I agree. This is a serious thing we're about to do." Usagi shook her head.

"Rei, honestly, I won't do it if everyone isn't on board," she told her. "If you don't want me to tell, I won't." Rei snorted.

"Oh, please! Of course we're going to let you tell your parents. It's time." She turned and looked at the rest of her friends. "Am I wrong?" She was met with silence and uncertain looks. She huffed irritably, and crossed her arms. "Well, _I_ think we should do it."

"You know what," Minako said. "Rei's right. Obviously, the only way to fix things with Usagi and her parents is for her to tell them the truth. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Sooner seems better." A ripple of agreement went around the table.

"Are you all sure?" Usagi asked. "I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to let me do this. You don't."

"Very sure," Ami said. "Usagi, we didn't realize how difficult things had gotten. If this will take some of the pressure off you, I'm happy do it."

"Me, too," Makoto agreed. Mamoru laced his fingers through Usagi's.

"It's fine, Usako," he told her. "We _want_ to do this for you." Usagi couldn't respond; couldn't speak. The sudden painful lump in her throat made it difficult to even breath. There was a prickling sting behind her eyes. She squeezed them shut and breathed in sharply through her nose.

"I still…um…I still have to wait for the others," she reminded her friends. "I…I…don't know how…um…how to thank you, but I owe you guys."

"No, you don't," Minako said. "We're your friends, and we're also your guardians. We'll do anything to make sure you're safe. And that includes making sure you have a home to go back to." Usagi could only nod her head. Despite her best efforts, a few tears made their way down her cheeks. Ami passed her a napkin, and Usagi wiped her face.

"Man, I don't even know how to tell them."

"You can take a few days to figure it out," Makoto said. "You're welcome here. And my couch actually pulls out into a bed, so you can have more space."

"Thanks, guys," Usagi mumbled. Her friends smiled back at her. Mamoru and Minako, who were the closest to her, hugged her.

"You should eat," Ami reminded her. "We can figure out logistics later."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Rei hung around after dinner until everyone else had left. Usagi was helping Makoto clean up in the kitchen, so Rei offered to clean the dining area. Makoto smiled sympathetically and accepted the offer. After a while longer, Makoto sent Usagi out of the kitchen.

"There's only a few dishes left," she said. "You can go hang out in the living room. I'll be out in a bit to help you pull the couch out." Usagi dried her hands and left Makoto at the sink. Rei was still at the table, wiping away at invisible crumbs. Usagi paused for a moment, and then cleared her throat.

"You'll wear a hole in the table if you keep going," she said quietly. Rei jumped, dropping the cloth she was using on the floor.

"Oh!" she gasped. Her face flushed pink. "Hey, Usagi."

"Hey, Rei." The tension between the two was palpable. Their last argument was still fresh in each of their minds as they regarded each other uncertainly. Rei broke the silence first.

"Usagi, I'm so sorry," she said in a rush. "I've been awful to you. I've been terrible to you." Usagi shrugged and shook her head.

"It's fine."

"Don't do that!" Rei snapped. "It's not fine. You did nothing to deserve how I've been treating you. I wasn't even angry at you. I was just taking something out on you that had nothing to do with you. And on top of that, I was adding to everything else you had going on. I'm so sorry, Usagi. If you never forgive me, I'd completely understand." Usagi frowned for a moment, then crossed the room towards Rei. She regarded her for a moment, and then wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Of _course_ I forgive you," she said. Rei hesitated, but returned the hug. Usagi could feel a growing wet spot on her shoulder.

"Why?" Rei asked. "I was awful to you. I should have months of cold shoulder coming." Usagi pulled back and smirked. She had also been crying.

"Who has the energy for that?" she replied, wiping her face. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me." Rei sighed, sinking into a seat.

"Let's face it," she said. "Yes, I did. I was upset and taking it out on you, because I didn't know how else to deal. It's not an excuse. I really am sorry." Usagi leaned against the wall across from Rei.

"Why?" she asked, quietly. "Why were you so upset?" Rei ran a hand through her hair.

"I was angry because my father was in town and he didn't call." She shrugged. "I know I should be used to it. He usually lets Grandpa and me know that he's in town, though. He hardly ever bothers to see us, unless he needs me to win the family vote, but… Anyway, this time I found out in the paper. And I guess…I was mad because you have both your parents, and they care about you. I didn't realize…I didn't _want_ to realize how tough things had gotten for you." Usagi lowered her gaze to her hands resting on her thighs. Rei watched her from the corner of her eye, still fiddling with her hair.

"Your dad's a jerk," Usagi said at last. Rei let go of the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"He is," she agreed. "I'm sorry." Usagi nodded.

"It's okay." And it was.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

Usagi woke up to someone shaking her shoulder. With a frustrated groan, she waved them away.

"It's _Saturday_!" she snapped. Someone laughed from across the room. Usagi burrowed deeper into her blankets.

"We came all this way just to see you!" the woman shaking her chided. "Honestly, you Lunarian royals just love to waste other people's precious time." Usagi poked her head out from the covers and glared blearily up at Haruka, who was sitting on the armrest by her head.

"It's Saturday," she repeated. "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty," Setsuna answered from the foot of the bed. She grabbed Usagi's toe and shook her leg playfully.

" _Eight thirty_?" Usagi whined and curled her legs in towards her stomach. "You're hilarious. Come back in an hour."

"What's up?" Haruka asked. "Are you hungover again?" Suddenly the blankets were wrenched away from Usagi, leaving her exposed to the air and sunlight.

"Get up!" Setsuna ordered. "We're going shopping."

"I said you don't have to take me shopping!" Usagi insisted plaintively.

"But we _want_ to take you shopping," Haruka told her. Usagi glared at Haruka again.

"You hate shopping." Haruka grinned and tousled Usagi's already sleep tossed hair.

"But I love spending time with you, Kitten." Usagi took a half-hearted swipe at her.

"Mauggh!" she groaned. "Lem'me sleep!" She pulled her pillow over her head.

"Don't bother," Makoto said. She and Michiru emerged from the kitchen carrying trays of food. "Usagi isn't a morning person."

"Maybe the smell of French toast will get her up," Michiru suggested. Usagi peeked out from beneath the pillow. The smell of Makoto's brioche French toast invaded Usagi's nose, and her stomach added to her friends' urging to get up.

"Fine," she grumbled. She sat up and scratched her head. "I've got to brush my teeth." She shuffled off to the bathroom. Once they heard the door close, the atmosphere in the room changed. The three older women turned to Makoto.

"How is she, really?" Haruka asked. Makoto set the tray of food down and perched on the armrest of the sofa.

"Better than the night she got here," she answered. "She's too thin, and she's not bouncing back like she should be. Her side's healed, but it shouldn't have taken so long. Ami and Mamoru say it's just a matter of figuring out the right diet for her, though." Makoto sighed and sat on the armrest. "The biggest thing for her right now is the issue with her parents." Setsuna exchanged glances with Haruka and Michiru. She turned to Makoto.

"Has she spoken to them since…" Makoto shook her head.

"Her phone was in her bag," she explained. "I don't think her parents even know where she is right now."

"How could they just kick her out like that?" Haruka demanded. Makoto motioned for her to lower her voice, but Haruka didn't care. "They put her out in the middle of the night. Who knows what could've happened."

"What happened was she ended up here," Makoto reminded her. "Drunk and minus her things, yeah, but I think under the circumstances, that's pretty good."

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place," Haruka grumbled. "I've got half a mind to go over there and tell them how stupid that was."

"You aren't looking at it from their point of view," Michiru said. She came up and rested a hand on Haruka's shoulder.

"So, you agree with what they did?" Haruka demanded. Michiru shook her head.

"I didn't say that. I only mean that from their point of view, they probably did everything they could think of."

"They didn't think very hard. How can we be sure we can trust them with such a big secret?"

"They won't tell." Everyone's heads snapped up to find Usagi standing in the entrance of the living room. She wouldn't meet anyone's eye.

"I'm so sorry," Haruka said.

"It's okay," Usagi replied. She tried to smile, but it was shaky and weak. Makoto went over and steered Usagi back to the pull-out couch.

"Do you want to eat now?" Usagi didn't answer immediately. She stared down at the tangle of sheets and blankets on the mattress.

"They didn't do this to be cruel," she said quietly. "I know you're all mad at my parents-I'm…I'm mad at them, too. But they just couldn't understand why I kept ly-lying to them." To her frustration, Usagi realized that she was crying again. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

"Usagi…" Michiru sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Usagi whimpered.

"Why are _you_ sorry?" Haruka asked gently. She sat on the other side of Usagi. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I should have been more careful," Usagi said. "Maybe if I had been quieter…or stronger…"

"This isn't your fault," Makoto said firmly. "We all should have realized that it would be harder for you to balance everything. Something like this was bound to happen eventually. We'll deal with it, just like we've dealt with tough situations before." Makoto straightened up and motioned to the table. "Now, breakfast is getting cold."

"I'm not hungry," Usagi mumbled. Makoto folded her arms shook her head.

"No dice," she said. "We've got a long day ahead. Besides, Mamoru and Ami will both kill me if I don't feed you regularly." Haruka and Michiru grabbed Usagi's hands and led her towards the breakfast spread.

"I wish you had let us know about this," Setsuna said. "Or, I should have asked. Then we may have figured this part out sooner."

"What do you mean?" Usagi asked.

"Queen Selene had the same issue," Setsuna told her. "The Crystal drained her like this, too. You all would've been much too young to know this, but my mother was in Selene's court when she became queen. She told me that sometimes after using too much energy too quickly, the Queen would be too tired to even get out of bed."

"So, what happened?" Usagi asked. Makoto set a small stack of French toast in front of her and handed her a bottle of syrup. Usagi poured it on carelessly and picked at her food with her fork. "I don't remember her being this drained. The only time I remember using the Crystal being hard on her was…well…that last day." Setsuna smiled sadly.

"A lot of it came with practice," she said. "Queen Selene learned how to be efficient with the Crystal's power, and after a while, it took less energy to do bigger things. It's like using a muscle. It's weak at first, but the more you use it, the stronger it gets." Usagi nodded dumbly, still picking at her food. Setsuna watched her pointedly and added,

"Queen Selene also learned that she had to eat more to compensate for the energy loss." Usagi flushed slightly, and brought a forkful of French toast to her mouth. It seemed to be all her appetite needed to reassert itself. She finished all four pieces of toast, three sausage links and a large portion of scrambled eggs. Her friends were so happy to see her eating, no one said anything when she took seconds.

Usagi felt better when she was done. Her limbs didn't feel as heavy, and although she was still tired, it was the fatigue of a full stomach. She felt ready to face the day.

"Did-did you guys get to talk about…"Usagi fumbled with her words. "Have you decided if it's okay with you if I tell my parents?" The Outer Senshi exchanged glances over the table.

"We thought it'd be best if we could discuss this with Hotaru here," Michiru explained. "She's still at her friend's house, but she's going to meet us here this afternoon." Usagi's face went frighteningly pale, but she nodded firmly.

"Good," she said. "She _should_ be here. I want to hear what all of you have to say."

"I'll send a message to the others," Makoto said. "We can all talk about it together." Usagi nodded again. Setsuna stood up from the table.

"Well," she said. "We have some time to kill until then. The mall is open. How about we head out." Usagi gave up trying to talk them out of it, and borrowed some old clothes of Makoto's. They seemed to be a few years old, because they were much too small for Makoto's tall, Amazonian figure. Still, they were too big on Usagi. Makoto had to use four safety pins just to get the pants to stay up around Usagi's waist. The thought crossed her mind to fix more French toast, and a quick glance at the older girls told Makoto that they wouldn't have objected.

 _It's going to take more than one meal to get her back to normal,_ she reminded herself. Finally, Makoto was satisfied enough with her work. There wasn't much she could do with the shirt Usagi was wearing, but Makoto knew the pants weren't going anywhere at least.

"Let's get going," she said.

-:-:-:-:-

By midday, the girls had loaded Usagi up with two armfuls of shopping bags. Despite her guilt of letting Setsuna spend so much money on her, Usagi was beginning to feel more cheerful than she'd felt in…well, weeks. Months if she were completely honest. The rest of her friends were having even more fun than Usagi. Even Haruka was enjoying pulling together outfits for Usagi to try on.

"This is the last thing you get to pick," Usagi told her with a scowl. It was hard for her to even walk in the neon-rainbow colossal bell bottoms Haraka had given her to try on.

"What?" Haruka protested. "They're very Harajuku style!"

"Have you ever actually been to Harajuku?" Usagi's expression said exactly how she felt about the pants, but Setsuna still gave her own assessment.

"They are a crime against the seeing public," she told Haruka. "And it is clear to me that you should never be allowed to dress yourself, let alone anyone else. It's a good thing you have to wear a uniform to school." Haruka folded her arms and scrunched her face.

"Too mean," she said. "That was too mean." Her friends laughed, and Usagi went to change. Makoto's borrowed clothes had been quickly replaced with a pair of jeans and a top that Setsuna insisted on getting for Usagi, despite her protests that the designer shirt cost way too much.

"Don't be silly," Setsuna had chided. "I'm happy to do this for you. I love shopping and playing dress up."

"If you really love it so much, I have a birthday coming up in a couple of months," Makoto told her. Usagi had smiled and relented to Setsuna, but a nagging suspicion was beginning to form. It occurred to her that her friends were trying to raise her spirits so she wouldn't completely crumble later when they told her they didn't want her to tell her parents.

Usagi straightened her shoulders, preparing to leave the dressing room and face her friends. She didn't want her face to betray her fears. She refused to guilt them into doing something they didn't want to. Not when it was as big as this. Usagi was already making plans for the future. She had managed to get applications at all of the stores they had been in without her friends knowing, and she planned to fill them out and drop them off sometime the following week while everyone was off at their various after school clubs. Everything would be fine, she decided, even if she had to make peace with never seeing her family again.

They stopped for lunch, and Usagi, tired and loaded with too many bags, convinced her friends they had done enough shopping for the day.

"I don't even know where I'm going to put all of this," Usagi murmured. There was a worried crease in her brow. Makoto grinned and waved off her concern.

"You don't have as much as you think," she said. "I've got plenty of closet space for you." The young women piled into Haruka's car. Usagi sat in back, between Michiru and Makoto. Up in front, Setsuna had her phone out, and was checking her text messages.

"Hotaru left her friend's house," she said. "She should be at Makoto's in an hour." Usagi's stomach clenched. As discreetly as she could, she took a deep breath.

 _Which am I hoping for?_ she wondered. _That they'll say I can tell my parents, or that I can't?_

Usagi was silent for the rest of the trip. No one tried to shake her out of it, although they exchanged concerned glances. Usagi didn't notice. When the group arrived back at Makoto's, she had to be shaken before she realized it was time to get out of the car. She took her shopping bags out of the trunk and followed her friends inside without a word.

They had beaten the rest of their friends, to Usagi's relief. She went into the bathroom while the rest of her friends prepared for the rest of their group. Once the door was closed behind her, Usagi went over to the sink, clutching the sides with a vice grip. Outside, she could hear the low murmuring voices of her friends. It didn't take much effort to imagine what they were talking about.

It was suddenly very warm in the bathroom. Usagi turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water on her face. The shock of it made her gasp, but she did it twice more, before she leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. The running water drowned out the conversation going on outside.

"Well, she seems to be doing okay," Haruka commented. Makoto pursed her lips and looked towards the bathroom.

"She seems healthier," she said. "I guess Mamoru and Ami were right about her needing to eat more."

"But…" Michiru prompted. Makoto turned to her and sighed.

"I don't know. Something still seems off with her."

"Well, she's got a lot on her plate right now," Setsuna reminded her friends. "It's normal for her to feel a bit down. But we can't let her stay there." Makoto stared at the three older women with a slight crease in her brows.

"What's wrong?" Haruka asked. Makoto blinked a few times, and forced a laugh.

"Just thinking," she waved her friend's concern off. "Anyway, I should get some snacks before everyone else gets here."

"I'll help," Setsuna offered.

"Can we do anything?" Michiru asked. Makoto gestured towards Usagi's shopping bags.

"You can put those in my room," she told them. Setsuna followed Makoto into the kitchen. Haruka and Michiru set to taking the five bags of clothes into Makoto's room. The paused outside of the bathroom. The water was still running, they noted with an exchanged worried look. They could also hear Usagi moving around behind the closed door, so they decided to leave her alone for the moment.

"Just set them over here." Michiru directed Haruka towards Makoto's vanity table. Haruka set the lightest of the bags she was carrying on the chair. She placed it too close to the edge, and as she stepped away, it toppled over, spilling its contents on the floor.

"Woops!" Haruka bent to retrieve the things, but paused halfway.

"What is it?" Michiru asked. She moved around towards where Haruka was to see what she was looking at. Haruka picked up a few sheets of paper from the floor. They were job applications.

"When did she get these?" Michiru asked. Haruka shrugged.

"Beats me," she said. "Why wouldn't she tell us she was getting them?" Michiru sank onto Makoto's bed.

"She doesn't want us to feel guilty," she guessed. "She didn't want us to feel forced into letting her tell her parents." Haruka sighed, then replaced everything in the bag.

"Doesn't she realize that she wouldn't have to do any of this alone?" she murmured. "She protects the world; we protect her. That's how it's _supposed_ to be." Michiru shook her head.

"That's not how she sees it. Usagi doesn't want to be a burden to us just because she's our princess. Not a bad trait in a monarch all things considered."

"But it's not a burden if we're doing it because we love her," Haruka insisted. "And it's not as if she is the only one we'd do this for. Remember when Setsuna took us in?"

"I know," Michiru agreed. "And I'm sure Usagi knows that on some level. But it's been a tough time for her." Haruka nodded.

"Yeah. I guess it has." She set the bag on the floor next to the chair and clasped her hands. "Usagi didn't want us to know she had those. Let's keep her secret, okay?" Michiru raised an eyebrow at Haruka.

"Hey, _I'm_ not the one who can't keep secrets." Haruka smirked, and took Michiru's hand.

"Smart aleck."

Usagi was sitting in the couch when Haruka and Michiru returned. She smiled wanly at them, straightening up in her seat.

"Hey," she greeted them.

"How are you doing?" Michiru asked. She sat down next to Usagi and looked her over discreetly.

"I'm okay," Usagi said. "I'm feeling a _lot_ better than I have been the past few days." Haruka chuckled and flopped down on the couch beside Michiru. She crossed one leg over the other.

"Yeah," she said. "I remember my first hangover."

"Do _not_ tell her that story," Michiru ordered her. Haruka threw her hands out at her sides.

"What?" she countered. "What possible harm could it do now?"

"Haruka, honestly…" Haruka laughed and shook her head.

"Are you worried about me being a bad influence? Because that ship has sailed! Am I right?" Haruka leaned forward and held her hand up to Usagi. "The girl is a natural born rebel. Just like me." Usagi's face flushed a deep red, but she smiled sheepishly and gave Haruka a high five.

"I wouldn't say that…" she mumbled.

"Haruka, do not tell that story," Michiru repeated. "It was stupid, and someone could've died." Haruka huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine!" she relented. Then she caught Usagi's eye with a mischievous grin that promised details another time.

"Soup's on!" Makoto and Setsuna emerged from the kitchen carrying trays of snacks. Haruka craned her neck and scanned the trays.

"I don't see soup," she commented.

"Stop it," Setsuna chided. "You know that's just a saying."

"She's incorrigible today," Michiru said. "She was about to tell Usagi about that time in Roppongi." Setsuna blanched and spun towards Haruka.

"Do _not_ tell her that story," she ordered. Makoto's eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

"What happened in Roppongi?"

"Nothing!" Setsuna and Michiru said quickly. Makoto grinned.

"Well, now I _have_ to know."

"No, you don't," Michiru told her. "Trust me on this. Haruka, I'm serious, don't tell her."

"Alright!" Haruka laughed. She held her hand up to her face and mouthed ' _later'_ to Makoto. The buzzer went off then, alerting the women to new arrivals. Setsuna and Makoto carried the snacks to the dining table, and Haruka went to open the door. Usagi's stomach clenched, but she schooled her face into a tranquil mask. By the time Mamoru entered the apartment, she had managed to calm herself enough to fix herself a plate of chips to hold nonchalantly.

"Hey," Mamoru greeted Usagi with a quick kiss. "You look better."

"I feel better," she replied. Mamoru smiled in relief. Haruka and Michiru moved to the dining room to offer their help, and Mamoru settled in beside Usagi. She curled up into his side, sighing contentedly as he played in her hair.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly. Usagi started to reply, but hesitated. After thinking a moment, she spoke again.

"I'm scared," she admitted. Mamoru nodded.

"You know we're all behind you, no matter what happens, right?" Usagi looked up and smiled at him.

"I know," she said, leaning further into him. "I'm the luckiest girl in the world." She meant it, Mamoru could tell.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked.

"Now don't start with that!" Makoto groaned, walking over. "Honestly, you two are going to give me cavities." The buzzer went off again, and this time, the rest of the Inner Senshi arrived. A few minutes later, the buzzer announced Hotaru's arrival. Then it was time.

Hotaru was the only member of the team who hadn't heard about Usagi's situation. Before they began, Usagi told the story for what she hoped would be the last time. Again, she didn't spare the youngest Senshi any details. Hotaru's already wide eyes, grew even wider as Usagi described her wild night.

"Wow…" she breathed at the end. She crossed the room and hugged Usagi. "I'm sorry." Usagi smiled weakly and patted Hotaru's arm.

"There's nothing for you to feel sorry about," she assured Hotaru. "But I have a favor to ask." Hotaru stepped back with a determined look on her face, as if she were about to go into battle for Usagi.

"Ask away," she said. Usagi winced.

"You don't have to answer me right away," she said. "You can take all the time you need. I want to tell my parents about…me. I want to tell them I'm Sailor Moon." Hotaru's eyes widened in surprise. "I know you don't know them well, but once I tell them who I am, it probably won't be hard for them to figure out who the rest of you are. My telling them will affect you, too."

"…Oh." Hotaru stood with her head down. Her dark bangs hid her eyes from view. Usagi quickly added,

"You can say no, if you want to. Honestly, it's okay."

"What will happen to you?" Hotaru asked. Usagi stood up and lifted Hotaru's head up.

"Nothing bad," she promised. "I'll be alright. It'll just be a bit longer than I'd hoped before my parents and I can connect again, that's all." It was a long moment before Hotaru spoke again. Usagi watched her with barely contained anxiety.

"Okay." It was so quiet that Usagi almost didn't hear her.

"Wha…?" Hotaru met Usagi's eyes and nodded firmly.

"It's okay with me if you tell your parents," she said.

"Are you sure you don't want to think about it for a while?" Usagi asked. Hotaru shook her head.

"No," she said. "I don't need to think about it. As far as I'm concerned, you can tell them."

"I agree," Haruka chimed in. "Look, we all figured that our secret would get out to someone's family sooner or later. It may as well be yours."

"You already know how we feel," Minako said.

"Looks like we're all agreed," Ami observed. Usagi took in a shuddering breath.

"Looks like it," she agreed. "Now what?"


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

Usagi stood at the end of the street and stared down towards her home. The lights were on, and she knew that her mother would probably be preparing dinner, and her father would be working on a story for work. Shingo usually hung out with his friends until dinner time, and Usagi was hoping today wouldn't be any different.

Mamoru stood by her side, with Luna in his arms. It had been decided after some lengthy discussion that it would be best not to overwhelm the Tsukinos with all of the Senshi at once. Of course, that led to another lengthy discussion about who exactly should be with her when she told them. In the end, Usagi decided that it should be Mamoru and Luna with her.

"What if they don't want to see me?" Usagi asked quietly. Mamoru reached his free hand out for hers and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"You don't _have_ to do this today," he reminded her. Usagi shook her head resolutely.

"No," she said. "It's already been a week. If I don't do this now…who knows when I'll have the nerve again."

"Okay." Mamoru lifted Usagi's hand and kissed it. "Then, we'll take this one step at a time."

"You'll be fine, Usagi," Luna assured her young charge. "We're with you all the way." Usagi smiled at them. Then she squared her shoulders and, with her fingers laced through Mamoru's, walked towards her home.

Kenji had left his briefcase in his car, and he had remembered just in time to see Usagi and Mamoru arrive. Immediately, his mind was flooded with things he had wanted to say to his daughter for the past week, and the fear, frustration and anger of not being able to reach her in all that time. When he opened his mouth to speak, though, none of it would come out. Usagi stood at the end of the drive way, one hand wrapped around Mamoru's, the other clenched tightly at her side. She met his gaze straight on, with tears in her eyes, and broke the silence first.

"Hey, Dad," she said shakily. "I…I need to speak to you and Mom." Kenji nodded dumbly and led the way inside.

"Is that Shingo?" Ikuko called from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready." Kenji didn't respond immediately. He watched Usagi and Mamoru with a thousand questions on his lips. Ikuko called his name again, and Kenji was finally able to speak again.

"It's not Shingo," he said distractedly. Ikuko poked her head out of the kitchen.

"What are you-" Ikuko started when she saw her daughter and gasped. "Usagi!" She looked torn between wanting to hug Usagi and wanting to remain stern. She cleared her throat and ran her hands down her apron. "Dinner will be done in a few minutes. Would you like to stay?" Usagi shot a quick glance at Mamoru, then turned back to her parents.

"M-maybe," she said. "I'm not really hungry, and I have to speak to you and Dad. Can we…um…"

"Let's sit in the living room," Ikuko suggested. "Kenji, come help me with drinks." Kenji followed his wife stiffly, while Usagi and Mamoru took their shoes off at the entry.

"You really _should_ eat," Ikuko heard Mamoru tell Usagi. There was a strong tone of disapproval in his voice. "You haven't eaten since breakfast."

"I had a few protein bars," Usagi whispered back. "I'll eat more later."

When Ikuko and Kenji went into the living room, Usagi and Mamoru were sitting on the couch, their hands still clasped together as if for support. Luna was there, too, Ikuko finally realized. She hadn't seen the cat in weeks, but here Luna sat on Usagi's lap, as straight as a sentinel, watching the Tsukinos with an unnervingly direct gaze. Ikuko glanced away and set a tray of glasses on the table. Kenji set the pitcher of water and bottle of soda he had brought in beside them. Then they sat on the loveseat across from the young couple.

"How have you been?" Ikuko asked. The words sounded strange in her ears hollow. Usagi seemed almost surprised by them.

"I've…I've been fine," she replied. She didn't offer any elaboration, but shifted in her seat. Luna glanced back and placed her paw on Usagi's forearm as if to comfort her mistress. Ikuko blinked her eyes a few times.

"You said you have something to tell us?" she prompted when neither teen said anything. Beside her, she could feel her husband tense up. His hands had curled into the cushion with a white-knuckle grip. Ikuko discreetly placed her hand over his. They had discussed the possibility of having this conversation with Usagi, and she knew they were both as prepared as they would ever be for it.

"I…"Usagi hesitated, cleared her throat. Her posture was too straight, Ikuko thought distractedly. She looked far too serious for the child Ikuko knew her to still be. She would spare her daughter this part.

"We know," Ikuko said. She dropped her gaze to her lap to hide the tears that had suddenly sprung up. She missed the surprised look she and Mamoru shared.

"You…you _know_?" Usagi gasped. "How...?"

"How far along are you?" Kenji asked. The apprehension left Usagi's face, replaced with confusion.

"How…far along…?" she looked from her mother to her father, trying to understand. "How far along in what?" Kenji pursed his lips and motioned towards Usagi's midsection.

"The…the baby," he forced out. Usagi went red, then pale, then red again.

" _WHAT_?"

"Mr. Tsukino," Mamoru spoke up. "You have the wrong idea. She's not… _we're_ not…"

"I'm _not_ pregnant!" Usagi almost shouted. "I'm only sixteen! And we haven't even...haven't…um…" Usagi buried her face in her hands. "This is _not_ how this was supposed to go."

"You expect us to believe that you two haven't…" Kenji sputtered. "You haven't been staying with him?"

"I've been at Makoto's!" Usagi told them. "Honestly! All week!" Ikuko put a placating hand on Kenji's tensed shoulder.

"We didn't mean to jump to conclusions," Ikuko said levelly. "But you can't blame us for thinking it was a possibility. After all, you two have been very serious for a long time. And we haven't been able to reach you." Usagi bowed her head in shame.

"I…I lost my phone," she admitted. "I would have called you from Makoto's, but…I didn't think you wanted me to call." Ikuko started to protest- of _course_ they wanted to hear from her- but she thought better of it.

"I understand," she said. She took a deep breath, putting her hands on her lap. "Well, if you're not pregnant, what is it you have to tell us?"

"I want to tell you the truth," Usagi told her parents. "About…everything." Kenji and Ikuko leaned forward in anticipation. "The night that…that you caught me sneaking back in, there was a youma attack at the playground by the school." Whatever Kenji and Ikuko had been expecting Usagi to say, that wasn't it.

"What has that got to do with anything?" Kenji asked. Ikuko nudged his side gently.

"My friends were there," Usagi continued. "They needed my help. I _had_ to go…you see I'm…" Usagi cleared her throat again, "I'm Sailor Moon."

Usagi's parents stared at her uncomprehendingly. They looked over to Mamoru for some sort of reaction, or for a contradiction. He looked as serious as their daughter.

"That…that's nonsense," Kenji said weakly. "You… you can't be a…a _superhero_?" He turned to his wife. "Ikuko…what…?"

"It's true. Usagi _is_ Sailor Moon." Luna stood up jumped onto the table, careful not to disturb the glasses. Ikuko shrieked and jumped back.

"…did the cat just _speak_?" She leaned towards Kenji and gripped his arm. "Did you hear that?" Kenji nodded mutely, and then quickly shook his head.

"This…this isn't real," he said. "This has to be trick…or something. There's a walkie talkie or a…a microchip…or-"

"I assure you this is no trick," Luna said. She sat on the table, and primly curled her tail around her feet. "As you can see, I'm not wearing a radio or…ahem…a microchip."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," Usagi said. She had shrunken back into the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest protectively. How could such a small girl be the superhero who was practically an urban myth, Kenji wondered.

"No…" he whispered. "This _can't_ be true. Ikuko, you don't believe this?" Ikuko looked from her husband to her daughter to Luna, too stunned to reply.

"I can prove it," Usagi said. She set the pillow aside, and stood up. Mamoru caught her hand as she reached up for her broach.

"Usako," he almost whispered. "Are you sure." Usagi flashed a half smile.

"This is why we're here," she reminded him. He nodded and released her hand. She grasped the broach and shouted her henshin.

"Moon Crystal Power, make up!" There was a blinding flash of light, and an instant later, Sailor Moon was standing before the Tsukinos in Usagi's place.

"Oh, my…" Kenji gasped and clutched at his chest. Ikuko rose to her feet, reaching out towards Sailor Moon.

"Why can't I see your face?" she asked. She squinted her eyes, trying to peer past the odd veil of light obscuring her daughter's face.

"It's a glamor," Luna explained. "To protect her identity." Kenji's eyes went from Luna, to Sailor Moon, to Mamoru at last.

"You…you already knew?" he asked. Mamoru nodded, twirling a rose between his fingers.

"I've been fighting with her for a long time," he told Kenji. He stood up beside Sailor Moon. His transformation was much subtler than hers had been. A tuxedo, complete with a cape, top hat and domino mask had suddenly appeared.

Ikuko sank back onto the loveseat next to her husband. They grasped each other's hands. Usagi and Mamoru dropped their transformations and sat down.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Mamoru said.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know," Usagi promised them.

"I don't even know where to begin," Ikuko let out a weak laugh. "And here we thought you were just sneaking out to see _him_." Kenji didn't find the situation humorous at all.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked. Usagi fiddled with her broach.

"About two years," she said. "Luna found me when I was fourteen, and told me who I was." Kenji turned on Luna angrily.

"So, this is _your_ fault?" he demanded angrily. "Why would you put my child in that kind of danger? Why didn't you pick someone else?" Luna recoiled indignantly. Usagi scooped her up and held her protectively.

"It wasn't Luna's fault!" Usagi sighed. "She didn't _pick_ me. I've always been Sailor Moon. There _was_ no one else."

"It also wasn't my choice to wake her," Luna added. "An old enemy had reawakened. Only the Senshi could defeat it. Believe me, if I could have left Usagi and the others to live normal lives, I would have."

"But if she hadn't woken us, then everyone would have died," Usagi said. "Or worse…" Kenji deflated. His face looked ashen grey. Mamoru poured him a glass of water. Kenji accepted it, feebly and took a distracted sip.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ikuko was suddenly fighting tears again. She found herself almost wishing that Usagi _had_ been pregnant. "In two years…didn't you think you could trust us?" It was as if she had slapped Usagi. Her face was stricken.

"It's…complicated," she said. "It's not just _my_ secret. I was worried that if I told you, I'd expose _every_ one before they were ready. I'm pretty sure if you know who one of us is, figuring out the rest is easy." Ikuko couldn't deny that. She already felt confident she knew who the rest of the Senshi were, even if Usagi hadn't confirmed it. "I didn't want you to worry about me, either."

"Usagi," Ikuko chided. "We're your parents. We worried anyway. Your grades were slipping, and you were sneaking out at all hours… How long did you think you could keep this from us?"

"Two years, apparently," Kenji muttered miserably. "That's how long it took us to catch on to her sneaking out. What kind of parents _are_ we?"

"Good ones," Usagi insisted. "You trusted me, and…and I took advantage of that." Kenji seemed unconvinced.

"What do we do now?" Ikuko asked more of Kenji than of Usagi. Kenji gave a helpless shrug.

"Can't you just…stop being Sailor Moon?" he asked. Usagi shook her head firmly.

"I can't ignore people who need me," she said. "If you try to stop me…" she hesitated, but only a moment. "If you try to stop me, I'll leave for good." Ikuko gasped.

"Usagi…" Usagi turned her pleading eyes to her mother.

"I don't _want_ to leave," Usagi told them. "I've missed you, and I want to come home…I mean, if you'll let me. But…I have a duty to protect people."

"But why does it _have_ to be you?" Kenji demanded. His face crumpled in frustration. "You're a child. _My_ child. Why can't someone else do it?" Usagi smiled sadly and shook her head.

"There isn't anyone else," she said.

"What about the rest of them?" Kenji pressed. "Isn't there a whole group of you?" Usagi nodded.

"Yes," she said firmly. "And they are _my_ team. I can't abandon them."

"Usagi is the most powerful of us all," Mamoru told her parents. "We need her." Kenji couldn't accept that. He turned to Ikuko, expecting her outrage to match his own.

"Why don't _you_ say something?" Ikuko shook her head.

"What _can_ I say, Kenji?" She looked over at Usagi fearfully, but there was pride in her eyes, too. "You saved Shingo, I remember. There was that attack at the laser tag place." Usagi's cheeks flushed lightly, but she nodded.

"I wouldn't have let anything happen to him, powers or no powers," she said. A shaky smile made its way across Ikuko's face.

"Then I'm grateful for your powers," she told Usagi. "Otherwise, I might have lost _both_ of my children that day."

"Usagi has saved countless other lives, too," Luna said. "Including yours." Ikuko swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. Then she got up, and went over to Usagi. With a gasping sob, she bent down and wrapped her arms tightly around Usagi.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "This must have been so hard on you." Usagi returned her mother's embrace.

"I'm sorry I lied.' Ikuko kissed the top of Usagi's head, and turned back to Kenji expectantly. He sat in an odd position, half off the couch, as if he was planning to stand up. He made no move towards them, though. Ikuko quietly urged him to say something, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well," Ikuko said, straightening up. "Your brother should be home soon. Will you stay for dinner?" Usagi and Mamoru exchange a brief glance.

"Yeah," Usagi agreed. "We'll stay."

"Good!" Ikuko exclaimed a bit too loudly. She paused on her way back to the kitchen and turned to Luna. "Um…is…is the cat food we have for you alright?" Luna swiped a paw across her face and seemed to be hiding a smile.

"That's just fine," Luna assured Ikuko.

"Good, good," Ikuko said distractedly. "And…I supposed we should discuss you coming home." Usagi looked at her parents hopefully. Kenji managed to nod.

"Does Shingo know anything?" he asked.

"No." Usagi shook her head. "You two are the only ones I've told. I'd honestly like to not tell him. At least not right now."

"Probably a good idea," Kenji mumbled. "The kid can't keep a secret to save his life." He stood up and followed Ikuko. Mamoru, Usagi and Luna went into the dining room.

"What do we do about this?" Kenji asked as soon as he heard the teens settling into their seats. Ikuko looked at him in surprise.

"Do?" She blinked at him. "About what?"

"About _what_?" Kenji gestured wildly towards the dining room. "About _that!_ We can't let her keep doing… _this_! It's way too dangerous." Ikuko pursed her lips in irritation, and started pulling out serving utensils.

"And just what do you suggest we do?" she asked. "Forbid her from saving the world?"

"Well, why is that such a bizarre idea?" Kenji demanded. "We're her parents." Ikuko set a carving knife on the counter, and turned towards her husband with her hands on her hips.

"Kenji, were you in there a few minutes ago?" she asked. "Did you see what your daughter did? Did you feel that power? Howdo you suggest that we stop her? Didn't you _hear_ what she said? She'd leave again if we tried." Kenji shook his head. It had been a miserable week for them both not knowing where Usagi was. He didn't want to live through that again. Kenji's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"What if something happens to her?" Ikuko dropped her hands and went over to Kenji.

"What if something worse happens because we try to stop her?" She put her hand under Kenji's chin and made him look up. "Kenji, don't you see? Usagi is part of something big. Bigger than us being afraid for her safety. Don't you remember all those stories we've heard? Sailor Moon and her friends have saved so many people. _Our_ child has saved so many people. We can't possibly think of keeping her from saving more." Kenji's shoulders sagged, and he had to lean against the counter to stay on his feet.

"I know," he admitted. He pulled away from Ikuko, running his hands over his face. "I wonder if this is how Batman's parents felt."

"I'm pretty sure his parents were dead when he became a superhero," Ikuko reminded him. Kenji shook his head.

"Can you believe I'm actually wishing she _had_ been pregnant?" Ikuko let out an involuntary bark of laughter. She pressed her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle her nervous giggles.

"Me, too," she whispered. A moment later, she managed to get herself under control. She motioned to the chicken she had made for dinner. "Take that in. I need to get them some plates." Kenji complied while Ikuko grabbed two more dinner placements, and a dish of food for Luna. As they started carrying dinner into the living room, the front door opened.

"I'm home!" Shingo called. "Is dinner ready?" Ikuko and Kenji froze with twin looks of horror on their face.

"What do we tell him?" Ikuko hissed. Kenji blanched.

"…Nothing?" he suggested. Ikuko favored him with a deadpan gaze, but she didn't have a better idea.

Shingo was standing in the doorway of the dining room, gaping at his sister and Mamoru when his parents carried in dinner.

"Hey, Shingo," Usagi greeted him awkwardly.

"Hey," he replied. He shifted from foot to foot, unsure of what to say. "Are you…staying for dinner?" Usagi nodded.

"They are," Ikuko said. Kenji set the chicken down on the table, and Ikuko gave Usagi and Mamoru their place settings. "Have you washed your hands?"

"Not yet," Shingo mumbled. Ikuko waved him off.

"Go get cleaned up," she ordered. "I can see the dirt under your nails from here." Shingo shot one last questioning look at his sister, then ran upstairs to the bathroom. When the door shut and they heard the water turn on, Ikuko and Kenji closed in on Usagi and Mamoru.

"What do we tell him?" Ikuko asked.

"I don't know…" Usagi said. "I mean, do we have to tell him anything?" Kenji gestured wildly at her with his hand.

"That's what _I_ said," he hissed.

"I think he's going to have some questions," Mamoru pointed out. Ikuko nodded with a pointed look at Kenji and Usagi.

"He will," Ikuko told them. "He's not stupid. He's going to ask why you're coming home."

"We could just tell him I apologized," Usagi suggested. "He doesn't really need to know the details, does he? I mean, I know he's going to ask, but that doesn't mean we _have_ to tell him anything." It was the best plan any of them had. At any rate, there was no time to think of anything better. The water shut off, and a few moments later Shingo tramped down the stairs. The older four fell silent when he entered the room, making him pause mid-step.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh!' Ikuko laughed. "It's nothing, sweetie. Have a seat." Shingo watched his family, as he carefully sat in his chair. His mother and sister tried to fill the awkward silence with polite small talk. When Ikuko asked them both how school was, Shingo was genuinely surprised to find out that Usagi had not only still been going, but had even been doing well. She went to grab her latest science quiz to show her parents her score.

"85%!" Kenji exclaimed. "That's very good."

"Yeah." Usagi blushed. "Ami's been tutoring me. But since I didn't do so great on my midterm, I'm probably only going to get by with maybe a C." Ikuko reached out and touched her hand.

"You're doing your best," she encouraged her daughter. To Shingo's surprise, Ikuko nearly leapt from her seat and rushed off to the kitchen. He thought he had seen tears in her eyes as she left. Shingo looked from Kenji- who was wearing a mask of forced calm- to Usagi-who looked troubled. Neither of them met his eye. Finally, Shingo turned to Mamoru. His face was impassive as stone. When Ikuko finally returned, Shingo had gone from concerned, to concerned and irritated. He slammed his fork on the table.

"Someone _has_ to tell me what's going on!" he demanded. "Why are you all being so weird?"

"It's nothing, Shingo," Kenji said. "We just…had a talk with your sister." Shingo narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and then turned to Usagi.

"So, what's going on?" he asked her. "Are you pregnant?" Usagi threw napkin on the table frustration.

"No!" she yelled. "Why is that everyone's first guess?" Shingo huffed.

"Well, what then? Did you two elope or something?" Kenji and Ikuko's eyes flew towards Usagi and Mamoru, wide as saucers. Mamoru's impassive face, suddenly flushed a deep red.

" _No!_ " Usagi's conscience prickled as she turned to her parents. "No, we did _not_ elope."

"Then tell me what's going on!" Shingo shouted for the third time. Silence fell over the table. No one knew what to say.

"Well," Ikuko said at last, "we had a talk with your sister this afternoon. She's…she's coming home." Shingo furrowed his brow and looked around the table.

"Okay…" he said, still eyeing everyone suspiciously. "Why is everyone acting so weird then?" Kenji stepped in then.

"We…well…we…er…It was a pretty intense talk," he managed to get out. "You know how it is right after you clear the air." That seemed reasonable to Shingo. He still thought his family's behavior was strange, but then again, they were strange in general. Finally, he noticed Luna watching from the corner of the dining room over a bowl of cat food. Shingo scowled at her.

"Ugh! When did _that_ come back?" Shingo asked. "I thought we'd gotten rid of that flea ball."

"Don't be rude!" Ikuko chastised him sharply. Shingo started in surprise, and he could have sworn Luna looked smug.

"So~orry," he muttered, picking at his food. "Geeze."

Dinner continued in a mix of awkward attempts at conversation, and long stretches uncomfortable silence. Shingo watched his parents exchange nervous glances with each other, and shot worried looks at Usagi, who for her part pretended not to notice with admirable consistency. When dinner finally ended, Usagi and Mamoru got up to leave, to the entire family's surprise.

"I left my things at Makoto's," Usagi explained. "I have a history assignment due on Monday, and she's got all my books."

"Do you want me to take you?" Kenji offered. "It may be easier than carrying everything yourself. And this way you can come home tonight." He cleared his throat and turned to Mamoru. He became a bit more hesitant, but he met the young man's eyes steadily. "Mamoru, I can drive you home, if you'd like." Usagi thought for a moment, then beamed at her father.

"I do miss my bed," she admitted.

"I really appreciate the offer," Mamoru said. Ikuko smiled at her husband. Then she saw Shingo watching the exchange with a strange look, and stood up herself. "Well, while why don't I clear the table? Shingo, do _you_ have any homework?" Shingo shook his head slowly, afraid that this was his mother's preamble to asking him to help her clean up.

"No," he said. "But I'm supposed to meet some of my friends online for a game." He prepared to plead with his mother not to make him late for his appointment with chores, but to his surprise, Ikuko shooed him away almost eagerly.

"Well, go on," she told him. "You can take that machine up to your room tonight." Shingo gaped at her. All of his instincts told him not to question his mother, but she _never_ allowed him to play videogames in his room. She liked to keep an eye on what he was playing.

" _Really_?" He asked. Ikuko nodded.

"But just tonight," she said. "I have to make a call, and I really don't feel like competing with the noise your game makes." That was all Shingo needed to hear. His feelings of something being off had dissipated in the face of the excitement of this one time treat. He rushed past his sister and Mamoru, racing to grab his X Box before his mother changed her mind. With a hurried goodbye to their company, he disappeared upstairs to his room, shutting his door tightly behind him.

"That'll come back to haunt you later," Kenji warned. Ikuko nodded.

"I know," she said. "But I have some questions for Luna." The cat looked up from her dish of food.

"I figured you might." Ikuko said goodbye to Mamoru and started clearing the table.

The ride to Makoto's was deafeningly quiet. Mamoru sat up front with Kenji, while Usagi stretched out on the back seat. Kenji's eye flitted from Mamoru to Usagi in the rearview when he wasn't keeping his eyes trained too hard on the road. Occasionally, he would clear his throat, as if preparing to speak, but he never did.

"You can ask questions, Dad," Usagi assured him after the tenth clearing. "It's okay." Kenji glanced at her reflection with a furrowed brow. For a moment, Usagi didn't think he'd say anything, but then he asked her one question that had been on his mind for hours.

"Do you…" he paused and cleared his throat again. "Have you ever been…hurt doing this?" Usagi exchanged a look with Mamoru. He nodded imperceptibly, and Usagi sighed.

"Sometimes," she confessed. "But I heal pretty quickly. Usually." Kenji stopped the car at a light and turned to face Usagi.

" _Usually_?" he repeated. "What does that mean?" Usagi's face colored lightly.

"Well…" she started to explain. "When I use my powers, it drains me, and sometimes if I've used a lot, it takes me longer to heal." She saw the horrified look on her father's face and hurriedly added, "But Ami and Mamoru figured out what was wrong with me. I just need to eat more. Honestly, I'm okay." The light had turned green, but there were no cars behind them just then, so Kenji ignored it.

"When was the last time you got hurt?" Usagi lowered her eyes and fiddled with her thumbs. She didn't reply right away, but Kenji pressed. "Were you hurt that night we kicked you out?"

"Umm…yeah," she reluctantly admitted. "When I snuck out to fight that youma in the park, I…got hit. It…it took a while longer than it should have to heal. But I'm fine now, I promise."

A week earlier, Mamoru would have given a lot for Usagi's parents to understand what exactly they had put her through. But now Kenji knew what had happened to Usagi before their final confrontation and Mamoru had never seen a man look so broken. Usagi put a hand on her father's shoulder.

"You didn't know," she said gently. Kenji stared at her for a moment, then he pulled the car off to the side of the road and leaned against the steering wheel.

"I…I," he struggled to say. "I don't think I can handle this." Usagi's entire body slumped.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you," she said quietly. "I'm sorry." Kenji shot up and spun around in his seat.

"No!" he nearly shouted. Mamoru and Usagi jumped in surprise. "No. I'd rather know. I…I just…need time to…get used to it, or something." Kenji looked away and rapped his hand erratically against his seat. "Usagi, you have to understand, as your father, everything in me is screaming at me to not let you put your life in danger."

"I get it," Mamoru told him. Kenji looked up at him in surprise. "I don't want to see her hurt, either. But Usagi is one the strongest people I know. And I know a few _very_ strong people. We are, all of us, a team, and we fight to make sure that we all make it back alive." That seemed to comfort Kenji, but only slightly. Usagi- and for that matter Mamoru were just barely not children anymore.

"Why does it _have_ to be you?" he asked at last. Usagi blanched. This was a question she had been dreading; the real reason she had been afraid to tell her parents her secret. With a sigh she sank against the door.

"It's complicated," she told her father. "I'd rather tell you and Mom together." Kenji looked as if he were going to say something else, but a high-pitched beeping cut him off. Usagi's spine stiffened.

"What is that?" Kenji asked when she pulled what looked like a small pink palm pilot from her pocket. Usagi looked at her father apologetically.

"Trouble," she told him. She pressed a button with a grim look on her face. "Venus! What's wrong?"

"At Ueno Park," came a familiar sounding voice. "We've got a nasty one. Can you come?" Usagi glanced at her father, who nodded reluctantly.

"We're on our way." Without another word, Usagi and Mamoru scrambled out of the car, and ran into a nearby alley. A moment later, Kenji watched as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen streaked past the car towards the park.

There urge to follow them to the fight was strong, but Kenji fought it. If he was going to prove to Usagi that she was right to trust him and Ikuko with this knowledge, he would have to stay out of her way. He wouldn't be anything but a distraction if he rushed in, and he wasn't certain he was ready to see his daughter in battle. So, he waited.

The night grew deeper around Kenji. It had been nearly an hour since Usagi and Mamoru had left, and he wasn't sure what to do. Ikuko would probably be calling soon. He was certain she must have expected them back by now, though maybe her conversation with Luna was keeping her distracted.

"What are you doing here?" The question was accompanied by a sharp rapping at the window that sent Kenji's heart slamming against his chest. The police officer shined a light into the car, and it seemed to Kenji that he was intentionally directing it it at his eyes. He turned the car on so he could lower the window.

"I'm just…waiting," he said. The officer lowered the flashlight, and Kenji could see his face. He was eyeing Kenji suspiciously.

"Waiting for what?" he asked. Kenji's mouth opened and closed a few times.

"For…um…nothing," he said at last. The officer's his badge revealed that his name was Himura. He couldn't have been more than twenty-two. A rookie beat cop. Kenji wondered if his parents had ever sat waiting for him to come back from a shift. He must have been staring oddly, because officer Himura frowned, and leaned in closer.

"Are you drunk, sir?" he asked. Kenji shook his head.

"No." Himura's eyes narrowed.

"Are you aware that this area is known for drug activity?" Ordinarily, that would have been a horrifying discovery for Kenji, but at the time all he could do is shrug.

"I'll let you know if I see any dealers," he said. Immediately he knew that was the wrong thing to say. Himura's suspicious stare became an outright scowl. The last thing Kenji wanted that evening was to have to call his wife to bail him out of jail, so he thought quickly.

"I'm sorry," he said contritely, the lie coming easily from his tumultuous mind. "I just had a fight with my wife. I've been sitting here trying to decide if I should risk going home, or find a motel room for the night." Himura's posture changed immediately. His brow softened in sympathy.

"I know how that is," he said. "I've been married a few years myself. But, look, sir. You shouldn't sit here for too long. It's not the best area." Kenji resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but thanked the officer for his concern. Once Himura had disappeared around the corner, Kenji drove off towards home, distractedly and slowly.

It took a few minutes after she had heard her husband's car for Ikuko to wonder why Kenji and Usagi hadn't come inside. Luna suggested that father and daughter may just be talking.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Luna told her. "She's been wanting to tell you two about all of this for a long time." Ikuko pursed her lips.

Luna had told Ikuko all that she thought she thought it would be proper for her to hear from Usagi's advisor. It had been enough, though, to teach Ikuko how many times Usagi might have not come home. How easily one day she may not.

"I'm going to check on them," she said. On her way to the front door, Ikuko paused at the foot of the stairs, with her head tilted towards the upstairs hallway.

"Oh, he's still playing his game," Luna assured her. The cat jumped up on the hallway table and licked her paw. "I can hear him." Ikuko muttered her thanks, and looked out of the front window.

The light from the driveway light left the passenger half of the car in shadow. All Ikuko could see was Kenji, leaning against the steering wheel. He didn't seem to be speaking to anyone. Ikuko felt her stomach sink, thought it took her a moment to realize why. Then, she peered harder into the dark and realized what was wrong. Kenji was alone.

"Where is she?" Ikuko fell against the hood of the car and peered inside. Once his start had passed, he looked out of the window at his wife with haunted eyes. A moment later, he stepped out of the car and wrapped his arms around is wife.

"They got a call while we were on the way to Makoto's," he told her. "I haven't heard from her since."

"She's got to be alright," Ikuko whispered. Her fingers clutched desperately at his shirt. "Luna was telling me how many battles she's survived. She'll be okay." Kenji couldn't speak around the lump in his throat. It had been over an hour, and he hadn't heard from Usagi. Before Ikuko arrived, he had been listening to the news, hoping for any word of where the Senshi were. Ikuko pulled away and listened to the weather forecast for the week.

"She went to Ueno Park," Kenji explained. "I guess they must not have drawn too much attention yet." Ikuko wasn't sure if that was good news or not. She rested her forehead against Kenji's chest.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"You could try not to worry so much." Ikuko and Kenji spun around towards the gate. Usagi leaned against a pillar with a wan smile on her face.

"Oh!" Ikuko gasped and ran over with Kenji right behind her. They both wrapped their arms around her.

"Are you alright?" Kenji asked. He felt her nod her head beneath their arms.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Was it the Dark Moon people?" Ikuko asked. Kenji shot her a strange look, and she almost blushed. "Luna was explaining to me about some of the… invaders you've fought." Usagi shook her head.

"Am- er…Mercury doesn't think anyone in particular is behind these attacks," Usagi explained. "She says it's probably leftover youma from the Dark Moon Clan's failed plots." Usagi's stomach let out a loud rumble just then. Ikuko pulled back slightly.

"Luna said something about you needing to eat often," she said. "I'll fix you a plate." When she let go, Usagi stumbled and bit back a hiss of pain.

"You're hurt?" Kenji asked. Usagi tugged at her skirt with a wince.

"Couple of scratches," she admitted. Her parents could see the end of an angry looking gash just above her knee. It seemed to extend up her thigh, and it looked like it needed medical attention. "It doesn't feel great, but I'll be fine in the morning. Honestly."

"O…okay." Ikuko forced a smile through the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"How about I fix you a bath?" Kenji offered. "While you're eating, I'll fix you a bubble bath, just like when you were a kid. I'll even use your mom's special soap." Usagi grinned.

"Sounds great, Dad." She yawned and looked at her parents apologetically. "I really wanted to talk to you guys tonight, but I don't think I'm going to have the energy."

"Shingo's going to the amusement park with his friends tomorrow," Kenji said hurriedly. "We can all sit down and talk then. Right now, you just relax and focus on getting well." Usagi stared at her parents for a long moment. Then she leaned forward and clung to them. She was so tired, and the urge to weep in gratitude was powerful.

"Thank you," she said, with a shallow, shuddering breath. Kenji and Ikuko wrapped their arms around either side of Usagi and helped her inside.

 _That's the end, folks. I hope you enjoyed this short story. Please review! And if you liked this story, check out my others._


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